


Healing the Sun

by SilentSambo88, Zorback32



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Depression, F/M, Gen, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2019-09-15 22:24:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 64,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16941828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentSambo88/pseuds/SilentSambo88, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zorback32/pseuds/Zorback32
Summary: Instead of Sasuke, it was Naruto who heard Sakura's cruel words about Naruto's lack of parents. Naruto is broken and convinced that no one will ever show him love, and tries to end his life. Now it is up to everyone else in Naruto's life to step in and fix their broken sun while they still can.





	1. Breaking the Sun

**Author's Note:**

> (Silent's notes) So...I had planned to cross-post this here for a long time now, but my co-author was having some...problems with getting invited. We can thank the CF over at Tumblr for him finally signing up so we could make the cross-post.
> 
> A fair warning: updates to this fic (not counting cross-posting the other chapters currently on FF at the time of this initial post) will be slow.
> 
> Also, there is a slight difference between the FF and AO3 versions of the chapters: the FF version uses Eastern name order (surname first) in both narration and dialogue, but this version will use the Western name order (given name first) in narration, but stick to Eastern name order for dialogue.
> 
> And...thanks for reading?

It was a cold, snowy day in the hidden shinobi village, Konohagakure no Sato (the Village Hidden by Tree Leaves). Most of the inhabitants felt it would be better to stay indoors, curled up under their blankets and sipping hot drinks, than to venture outside for any unnecessary reasons.

Naruto Uzumaki was not among them. He never had been, and if the villagers continued to have their way, he never would be.

Naruto was shorter than average for his eight years of age, the result of poor dietary habits enforced by the tendency of most shopkeepers and merchants to throw him out of their stores or market stalls. He wasn't quite properly dressed for the winter weather, which wasn't all that surprising given that snow was something of a rarity for most locations in Hi no Kuni (the Land of Fire): he donned blue short pants and black shoes, a cream-colored jacket with brown sleeves worn over a green T-shirt with a white version of the Uzumaki crest printed on the front, a lengthy red scarf around his neck, and green goggles over his forehead that he wore to protect his blue eyes whenever he was getting back at one of the aforementioned shopkeepers/merchants with one of his pranks. Those blue eyes, along with his spiky blond hair, were traits that were rarely seen in Konoha outside of the Yamanaka Clan, and they already gave Naruto somewhat of a distinctive look, but it was the birthmarks he bore, three whisker marks on each cheek, that really stood out.

Unless it was to sleep, Naruto had no reason to stay at home, no matter the weather. Because no one was there for him. He was an orphan, but unlike other orphans he had not spent his first years in the village's orphanage, instead being raised by various elders, and the only thing he knew about his parents was that they had died shortly after he was born. Even the system the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi had set up had eventually fallen apart last October: Naruto was deemed old enough to take care of himself, and with other recent losses suffered by the village, they could not afford to spare any personnel to care for him any longer. That October, for his eighth birthday, Naruto had been set up with a small attic-like apartment and a monthly pension that would allow him to purchase his own food, clothing and other necessities. The apartment itself was not a bad place to live. It was just that it was so empty and lonely all the time, so Naruto went out of his way to avoid staying there whenever he could get out.

Currently, he was seated on the swing just outside the Konoha Ninja Academy, where he would be officially enrolled starting in the spring. The Third Hokage was one of only three people who had ever shown Naruto any real kindness, and that made him the closest thing to a friend Naruto had, but since his duties to the rest of the village made it difficult for him to visit Naruto more than once each month, Naruto could not be sure that the Hokage was actually a friend. But Naruto had learned quickly that the position of Hokage was one that commanded the admiration of the rest of the villagers and instilled inspiration in them. He saw how everyone else who interacted with the Hokage would only show him the utmost respect, a respect that even Naruto's caretakers had denied him. Even at such a young age, Naruto knew that the only reason his previous caretakers had taken him in was because the Hokage had ordered them to, not out of any genuine act of compassion. He was an outcast, after all, even if he didn't understand why. But seeing the old man hold such influence over the rest of the village made Naruto determined to gain that influence himself. Naruto reasoned that if he were to become Hokage, everyone else would have to stop treating him like he doesn't exist. They would have to start treating him like he was important, like he was someone who mattered.

But the Hokage was also supposed to be the strongest shinobi in the village, which meant that they had to be really good at using a lot of powerful jutsu. So far, Naruto only knew how he was supposed to perform one jutsu, the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, and that was only because he had caught an accidental glimpse of an Anbu using that jutsu a while back. And for all the effort he had put into trying to master the jutsu, he was still a long ways away from getting it to work.

"I'm gonna have to get that jutsu down soon if I wanna make it through school," Naruto lamented with a deep sigh. He would have continued brooding on the swing, were it not for his noticing a trio of boys stop right at the gate. He focused on them and saw that they were circling around a little girl.

This girl also had unusual hair, only hers was dark blue and styled in a hime cut, with two bangs that framed her cheeks. Her pale skin, even from this distance, looked perfectly smooth, and the exposure to the winter air caused a tiny blush to adorn her cheeks, something Naruto thought looked very cute. Then Naruto noticed her eyes, and they were the strangest thing he had ever seen. He couldn't get that great of a view while the other boys were in front of her, but from what he could tell, her eyes had no pupils and were tinted lavender, making them look almost like crystals. He didn't know what to make of this until he heard one of the three boys speak up.

"If you're a Hyūga, then show us your Byakugan!"

 _What's a Byakugan?_ Naruto thought.

"I bet you're really a monster!" another boy accused.

"Yeah, a Byakugan monster!" the third added with a laugh. This proved too much for the girl and she burst into tears. Naruto had also heard enough and jumped off the swing to confront the bullies.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" he shouted. The three bullies spun around and gave him a nasty smirk.

"And who are you supposed to be?" the first bully demanded.

"Trying to play knight in shining armor for this creep?" the second bully added, further angering Naruto as he saw the girl had fallen to her knees, trying to hide her tears. Naruto scrambled to come up with a grand introduction, one that would be sure to command their respect and make them stop bullying the poor girl. It became doubly important when he noticed her lift her head up, gazing upon her would-be savior. What he said now, would determine how he would have to live the rest of his life.

"The name's Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm gonna become Hokage!" Naruto yelled with vigor. The way he said it made him fully convinced that it would happen, almost as though the words themselves carried some sort of latent power. The girl seemed to believe so as well; she looked at the blond boy from behind the bully trio and felt her heart skip a beat at his words. How could this boy carry so much confidence that he could make anything he said seem possible?

The bullies, however, were not swayed. They stared at Naruto for a few seconds, dumbstruck by his audacity, and then burst into laughter.

"You, the Hokage?" one of the bullies said.

"Hey, I've heard about you! You're that brat my dad says is always causing trouble! What could a runt like you do to become Hokage?" another taunted.

Naruto growled at the bullies as he formed the Ram hand seal with his hands. "I'll show you! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he yelled, making them tremble in fear at the ninjutsu he was attempting to use…

…only to be completely underwhelmed when the two puffs of smoke created by the jutsu attempt cleared to reveal a pair of miniature clones.

"Come at me!" one of the mini-Naruto clones yelled, but due to its tiny size it sounded more like a squeak.

"Y'know!" the other chibi clone yelled/squeaked. The bullies lost it and burst into even harder laughter than before.

"And I thought he might actually do something!" one of them mocked.

"Let's teach this bastard a lesson for messing with us!" another shouted, promptly connecting his fist with the face of a Naruto who was too stunned by the failure of his jutsu to be able to react to his attack. The punch instantly caused swelling around his right eye and bloodied his nose, and caused him to fall backwards into the snow, sending the bullies into their biggest laughing fit yet.

"Future Hokage, my ass!" the tallest one shouted. It didn't take long for his peers to come up with more ideas to laugh at Naruto's expense.

"Let's mess up this nice scarf of his while we're at it!"

"Yeah! He must think he is so great wearing something like this!"

All the while, the girl Naruto had tried to defend could do nothing but watch as the trio unwrapped the red scarf from around his neck and began to tear it apart. First they formed a triangle and stretched it as far as they could on their own, then they hung it from the branch of a nearby tree and swung around, and finally they threw it back into the snow and stomped on it until they grew bored.

"Aww, it's no fun if he isn't awake for it. Let's go," the bully who had punched Naruto earlier said right as Naruto was starting to recover.

"Yeah, let's leave the two losers alone," the tall one agreed. "We stick around them too long and we might get infected by their lameness." And they walked off, giving their victims and the ruined scarf one last look of disgust as they left the school grounds.

Naruto blinked a couple of times and shot straight up to his feet, not noticing that the bullies were already gone. "Hey, wait! I'm not done yet! This time I'll make a really strong clone and…" but his voice failed him when he finally realized that the bullies were nowhere in sight, and the pain from that single punch that had been landed on him finally registered, forcing him to kneel down and moan. "Ow, ow, ow…"

"A-Are you okay?" the girl asked. That was the other thing Naruto hadn't noticed until now: the girl he was trying to save was right next to him, also kneeling down with him and still sniffling a little as she held the remains of his scarf in her arms.

Naruto still hurt as he carefully turned his head to look at her. "Yeah, it's okay, I'm used to it," he said, rubbing the side of his face the bully didn't hit. He was about to stand back up, but he found that he couldn't take his eyes off hers, and it wasn't because he thought they were weird. It was something else, a feeling so alien that he had no hope of figuring out what it was.

"Those three boys, they… they ruined your scarf because you helped me…" the girl lamented, beating herself up over how her own weakness had caused this really nice kid to suffer. "I'm really sorry…"

Naruto sighed and waved off her apology. "Nah, forget it," he said, pushing down on both knees with his hands to push himself back to his feet. This drew out a protest from the girl, who couldn't just do as he said and let the incident go.

"B-But they wouldn't have bothered you if you hadn't tried to stand up for me! And besides, we don't even know each other! Why would you help me?"

Though Naruto wouldn't know the whole story for years to come, this girl was part of one of the largest, most prestigious clans in Konoha, but she was universally despised by her clan for her failure to meet any of the standards they imposed on their members. They all scorned and ostracized her to the point that she was convinced she would remain a failure forever. It felt so much colder to her inside her clan's estate than it did being outside in the snow. The absence of warmth at home planted many troubling thoughts inside her head, and she was seriously questioning whether it was worth it to keep going on… to keep living, if that was all her existence would ever mean.

So when Naruto smiled at her, the feeling of warmth she felt from him already deeply affected her. The innocence in his expression made her heart throb madly. And his answer to her desperate question would leave her changed forever:

"Do I need a reason to help someone?"

The girl felt a fresh wave of tears escape from her eyes, and she quickly turned away to wipe them off so he wouldn't see her crying. But in those few seconds it took her to recompose herself, Naruto was already running off. She couldn't let him leave, not without telling him just how much his kindness towards her today meant to her.

"W-Wait!" the girl said quietly, reaching out and grabbing one of Naruto's hands before he could leave.

"Huh? What's the matter?"

The girl let go of his hand and blushed slightly as she forced herself to speak up. "Hinata… my name is Hyūga Hinata, and I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am for what you did for me today. Thank you very much," she said, bowing deeply as a further gesture of her gratitude.

Naruto was frozen in place for a few seconds, and it had nothing to do with the weather. His mind was in a frenzy as he tried to process her words. Again: with the exception of the Third Hokage and the two people who ran the Ichiraku ramen bar, no one had ever shown him any true kindness. And yet this girl had just thanked him, even though he hadn't done anything that was worth thanking him for. He didn't understand it… and yet he couldn't help the happiness that was about to burst out from his heart.

"Hinata…" Naruto whispered in awe. "That's a pretty name, y'know." And then he grinned madly, expressing his happiness in the only way he knew how. "I'll see ya around, Hinata!" he shouted, a final conveyance of the happiness her words to him gave him before he turned back around and made his exit, wanting to let the other three important people in his life share in that happiness.

The girl whose name was Hinata held the torn scarf close to her chest and smiled softly as she watched her blond savior run into the distance. She had no way of knowing that one day in the not-so-distant future, she would save him the way he had just saved her.

"Uzumaki Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered to herself, dangerously close to entering a trance.

* * *

_Three years and ten months later…_

Regrettably, the happiness Naruto had felt from Hinata's gratitude was overwhelmed by his extreme mortification over what he viewed as an immense failure, causing his mind to repress the memory of saving Hinata from the three bullies. It also did not help his attempts to retain that memory when contact between the two since that winter morning was very limited, despite her being placed in the same class as him at the Ninja Academy. Sometimes, Naruto thought there was supposed to be something there, something that was missing, but it was a thought he never dwelt on. There was always a more pressing matter which required his attention.

Today was no exception. Today was the day he would be assigned to a platoon and finally be recognized as a Konoha ninja. It was his next major step on his road to becoming Hokage. In his excitement, Naruto rushed through his morning routine and even skipped breakfast because he was so anxious to arrive on time and find out the team to which he was assigned. And after an incident involving every single one of a certain moody classmate's fan girls, he was eagerly awaiting his teacher's announcement of the team placements.

"First off, I want to congratulate all of you for graduating. You have all worked hard these past few years to make it this far, but I must warn you that your lives will only become more difficult from here on out," the teacher, a chūnin named Iruka Umino who was only ten years older than his students, announced to the class. In almost every aspect, Iruka was the definition of an "average" shinobi: nothing stood out about his physical appearance aside from the scar that stretched across the middle of his face, and his skill level as a ninja was nothing to write home about, unless you factored in his experience in chasing down and disciplining Naruto after the mischievous blond was caught in the middle of one of his many pranks. Those pranks, however, had helped create a bond between Iruka and Naruto that went beyond teacher and student.

"Come on, Iruka-sensei! Just tell us the teams already!" Naruto whined.

"I will get to it, Naruto. Be patient," Iruka instructed.

"You're being more annoying than usual today, _usuratonkachi,"_ one of Naruto's classmates muttered. Naruto's head quickly snapped to the side to face the origin of that voice: the aforementioned moody one with all the violent fan girls, Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke was taller than Naruto (though that didn't say much, since Naruto was the shortest student in his class), with blue-tinted, jet black hair that was spiky in the back and had bangs hanging over his face. He kept his clothing simple, wearing a blue T-shirt with the symbol of the Uchiha Clan emblazoned on the back, along with white shorts and arm warmers. From day one at the Academy, Naruto and Sasuke had been at each other's throats. Naruto detested Sasuke for his extreme popularity among his classmates and the village in general, and for his status as a prodigy. Sasuke had everything Naruto desired, and Naruto had decided after being humiliated in their first spar that the best way to earn that all for himself was to defeat Sasuke decisively and prove his superiority. But even the few times Naruto had beaten Sasuke over the course of their bitter rivalry had failed to garner him any positive attention.

And the worst part of it all? Sasuke didn't _like_ the attention he received. He even went out of his way to belittle the girls who fawned over him on occasion. That pissed Naruto off like nothing else.

 _"Temee!_ No one asked for your opinion!" Naruto shouted at Sasuke.

"Don't talk to Sasuke-kun like that, _baka_ Naruto!" one of Sasuke's fan girls, the pink-haired Sakura Haruno, screeched into Naruto's ears, making Naruto cover them in response. Sakura was yet another reason Naruto couldn't stand the so-called Last Loyal Uchiha. Physically, Sakura was the only one of Sasuke's fan girls Naruto had found attractive. Her pink hair was an exotic trait, accentuated by her fair skin and emerald eyes, and Naruto thought she had the best fashion sense out of all of Sasuke's fan girls with her favored red qipao dress; but the real reason he had a massive crush on the girl was because he had found himself empathizing with her desire to be acknowledged by Sasuke. But it still made Naruto angry when Sakura fawned over Sasuke or jumped to his defense. He never acted on that anger, because when he and Sakura were left unsupervised, Sakura would occasionally use physical violence against him, and Naruto lived in fear of the next time he would meet with a hard fist to his head from her.

But not this time. Sakura and Sasuke were ruining Naruto's good mood and he wasn't about to let them continue.

"Just get over him already, Sakura! What the hell is so great about that jerk, anyway!?" Naruto shouted at Sakura after his ears recovered from her verbal abuse.

"I couldn't even begin to list everything that makes Sasuke-kun better than you'll ever be," Sakura sneered at Naruto. _"Baka,"_ she couldn't resist adding the habitual insult.

"Alright, that's enough!" Iruka snapped at the class. "Quiet down or you'll all stay here for another year!" The room instantly went silent as most of the students cowed in fear of the threat from their teacher. Iruka shook his head at them and sighed deeply before going on, "You really need to work on getting that bickering under control. When you are assigned to your teams, your jōnin instructors will not tolerate any lapses in your teamwork."

"What's that supposed to mean, Iruka-sensei?" another of Sasuke's fan girls, the blonde Ino Yamanaka, asked. Ino also had a short temper and a massive crush on the Last Loyal Uchiha, but unlike Sakura, was more provocative with her clothing choice, relying on a _sarashi_ to cover the large amounts of skin that would otherwise be exposed by her purple vest-like blouse and apron skirt. Naruto honestly thought she was the most annoying girl in the class.

"It means that should your jōnin instructors choose to do so, they can still fail you and prevent you from becoming a genin," Iruka explained. This caused almost the entire class to scream in protest, complaining about how it wasn't fair that after how hard they'd worked to pass, it could still amount to nothing. "Quiet down!" he shouted again, his head comically growing to several times its normal size to make his students cower. "It is completely fair for them to make that choice if they are so inclined. Teamwork is emphasized in your shinobi training for a reason, students. How can you expect to complete a mission you're assigned to if you can't rely on your teammates?" He waited for almost fifteen seconds to see if any of his students would issue another complaint, but they all remained silent. He gave them a nod, appearing satisfied that his message had sunk in. "Good. Now then, I expect that you will accept your team assignments without any further complaints and that you will obey the orders of your new instructors without question," he finished, glancing at the clipboard that he had kept in his hand since his arrival. "Team One…"

As Iruka began listing off the teams, Naruto let his mind wander off, tuning out Iruka's voice as he contemplated the meaning of what his teacher had just said.

 _After all that, there's still a chance I might not become a ninja?_ Naruto wondered. _Nah, that can't be right. I'll be fine, I've trained way too hard to fail now! There's no way I won't pass any tests they might throw at me now!_ His thoughts were interrupted when he heard some of the other girls in the class, whose names he didn't care to remember, express their displeasure with the teams to which they were assigned, but Naruto wasn't bothered in the slightest, because none of those teams were his. _As long as Sasuke-me isn't on my team, I'll be fine. I really hope I get Sakura-chan, though!_ He was pulled out of his thoughts altogether when Iruka began to read off the second half of the teams, not noticing the slight grimace Iruka had when his eyes glossed over the next team on the list.

"Team Seven will consist of Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto heard from Iruka, making him start paying attention again, "Haruno Sakura…"

"Yes!" Naruto shouted, jumping up out of his seat.

"I'm doomed," Sakura moaned, head sinking down onto her desk in gloom and horror over having the blond idiot as a teammate.

"…and Uchiha Sasuke," Iruka finished, making Sakura jump up in excitement (and with more vulgarity than Naruto had done a few seconds earlier), while Naruto momentarily fell into the gloom Sakura had felt when her name was announced. But unlike Sakura, Naruto's depression turned into anger.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shouted, standing up and slamming his right hand on his desk while pointing his left hand at Sasuke. "Why does an outstanding shinobi like me have to be on the same team as that prick over there?!"

To his credit, Iruka held himself back from sighing. "The way the teams are formed takes into account the individual strengths and weaknesses each member has shown during their classes here at the Academy. Each team is designed to be balanced. And the reason you and Sasuke are on the same team is because Sasuke had the highest grades out of all twenty-seven graduates in this class… and yours were _dead last._ You do understand the importance of balance, right?"

"Hmph," Sasuke grunted, folding his hands on his desk. "You'd better not get in my way…  _dobe,"_ he couldn't resist insulting Naruto.

"What did you just call me?" Naruto shouted at Sasuke.

"Give it a rest, Naruto!" Sakura screamed directly into Naruto's ear.

 _Now_ Iruka sighed. _This team is a disaster in the making,_ he thought as he watched the three students assigned to this year's Team Seven lapse back into their usual misbehavior. _I don't know what our Hokage-sama was thinking by putting those three together. I just hope they can pull through somehow._

* * *

Naruto decided to wait outside on the swing, watching from this distance as his classmates either hung around the premises or left. He had no desire to be around either of his teammates at the moment, not after learning the disappointing news that he was stuck with Sasuke on his team. He would have been fine with anyone else but Sasuke, and having Sakura on the team without Sasuke would have been a bonus, but with both Sasuke and Sakura together, he had serious doubts about his future as a shinobi of Konoha.

 _Damn you, Sasuke-me. Damn you, Sakura. And damn you too, Iruka-sensei. You know how much I hate Sasuke-me and you still did this,_ Naruto cursed his teammates and teacher in his mind. He wondered if Iruka had done this as payback for all the pranks he had pulled up until now, and as that thought lingered, he imagined Iruka retreating to somewhere private and laughing at his misery and quickly decided he couldn't let his teacher off the hook for making him team up with someone he couldn't stand being around. _I'll get you back for this, Iruka-sensei! I'll make you buy me ramen at Ichiraku every day for a whole month!_

"U-um, ex-excuse me Naruto-kun," a soft voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Naruto then felt a small hand just barely touch his hand that was gripping the chains of the swing and, startled by this, jumped out of the swing to face the voice's owner.

"H-Hey! Don't scare me like that, y'know!" Naruto shouted.

"I-I'm sorry," Hinata stammered, taking a few involuntary steps backward.

"Nah, it's alright." Naruto scratched the back of his head as he tried to remember who this girl was. "But, um, what was your name again?" he asked. He knew he should have remembered this girl. All of her facial features—dark blue hair, small round face, and lavender eyes—reminded him of someone he had met long ago, but for some reason, he couldn't make the connection.

"I see," Hinata said, her face showing the same expression of disappointment it had earlier when she and Naruto were assigned to different teams. "So Naruto-kun doesn't remember me."

Naruto laughed nervously. "Yeah, sorry. I mean, I see you around class but every time I tried to talk with you, you seemed like you were too busy."

Hinata shook her head. "Please don't apologize, Naruto-kun. I didn't make it any easier on you. You see, ever since that day we first met, I have always been nervous about talking to you."

"Oh really? Why is that?" Naruto asked. He was genuinely curious about how this girl knew him and he knew that he recognized her from somewhere, but he still, for the life of him, could not figure out where.

Hinata's head lowered and she started poking her index fingers together as her shyness worked against her. "It… it was…"

"Huh?" Naruto said, but the girl seemed unresponsive. "You gotta speak up, y'know," he said, waving his hand in front of her. This startled her and she jumped back a couple of steps, then took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves before doing as Naruto asked.

"It was almost four years ago, and it was the only time we have ever talked until now, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you don't remember me," Hinata answered. "We hadn't started attending the Academy yet. It was snowing, and the red scarf you wore was ruined when you stood up for me against a trio of bullies."

"Hmm…" Naruto squinted his eyes and moved closer to the girl, holding his right hand above her head as he examined her, trying to recall the event she told him about. After about a minute, he was about to let his mouth run off with the first thing that came to mind when his eyes opened and focused directly into hers. It was those eyes, those strange lavender crystals, that made her so familiar to him. Naruto remembered the strangeness of those eyes from back then and now he found himself getting lost in them.

And that was when his brain finally put the pieces together.

"Hinata!" Naruto was having difficulty holding back his excitement from recognizing her. "It's you, it's really you!" he shouted, placing his hand on top of her head and ruffling her hair a little.

Hinata, for her part, also had some difficulties with holding back her own feelings. As it was, her eyes were sparkling when Naruto remembered their meeting on that day, and she blushed when she felt Naruto touch her hair. "Yes, that's right. I'm so glad you remembered, Naruto-kun."

"Hehe," Naruto chuckled awkwardly and gave Hinata a wide grin. A few seconds later, his grin vanished and he was back to drifting in thought. "But that's so weird, you know. I should have remembered something like that right away." He turned away slightly before adding, "Wonder why I forgot…"

"Please do not blame yourself," Hinata said. "The important thing is that you did remember me, even if it took you time to remember."

"Well, either way, I'm sorry. I tried to remember, but after what happened with those jerks, I didn't get to see you much."

"As I said just now, please don't blame yourself for that, Naruto-kun. If anything, it's my fault. Partly because I was so nervous about seeing you again."

"Oh yeah, you mentioned that earlier, but why were you nervous?"

Hinata couldn't answer that question. There were a lot of reasons why she was nervous, and she felt like it would take her several days if she tried to list them all. The most important reason, of course, was the problems she faced within her own home, from her own clan. But she couldn't bring herself to tell Naruto about the pain she suffered in her home, either. Besides, this wasn't about her, it was about him. The reason she had approached Naruto was to try to lift his spirits.

"It's not important," she lied.

"Huh? But—"

"A-Actually, Naruto-kun, I-I wanted to congratulate you," she interrupted.

"Huh?" Naruto went back to being confused. "Congratulate me for what, Hinata?"

"Well, for passing, of course! I-I was so worried when we took that test this last weekend that you were going to be held back another year. But when you finally succeeded in using _that_ jutsu, the one you tried to use for me the day we first met, and received your _hitai-ate_ from Iruka-sensei, I was so happy for you. You deserve to be congratulated for your efforts, Naruto-kun."

Naruto blushed slightly from her praise as he grinned. "Yeah, well, it was obvious I was gonna pass from the start," he boasted. "After all, I'm gonna be Hokage someday, believe it!" Hinata giggled at his bragging, making his heart skip a beat at how pure and innocent her voice sounded.

"I do believe it, Naruto-kun," she replied, catching Naruto completely by surprise.

 _No way. Did she just…_ Naruto stuck a finger in his ear, telling Hinata that he couldn't believe what she'd just said. There was just no way he could have heard her right. He was so used to people dismissing his dream or only pretending to agree with him just to make fun of him that to hear someone claim that they believed him, and mean it… no, it just wasn't possible.

"Hey… are you trying to make fun of me, Hinata?" Naruto asked, eyes narrowing at her.

Hinata gasped at his response. Her eyes, which had been so vibrant, were starting to dull from the hurt she felt from Naruto's accusation. "W-Why would I make fun of you, Na-Naruto-kun?" she stammered out her reply.

Unfortunately for them both, she did not get a chance to clear up this misunderstanding.

"Hinata-sama!" a voice, unfamiliar to Naruto but painful to Hinata, called out. Both of them turned to their side to face a man with similar, yet completely different eyes from Hinata approach them, and even before he finished walking up to them, Naruto decided that he did not like this person at all.

"Kō-san," Hinata addressed him. "Isn't it too early for you to be here?"

"Clearly, I didn't arrive soon enough," the now-identified Kō Hyūga did not make any effort to hide his contempt for his charge's crush as he replied. "Hinata-sama, you were warned by the elders to stay away from that child. Once I inform them of your disobedience, you will be punished severely." Every single word he spoke fueled a burning rage inside Naruto even as Hinata wilted from their sting. It was just like that time with the bullies, only now it was one bigger bully instead of three. Naruto didn't care who this person was; he wasn't about to let him get away with this.

"Don't call me 'that child'! I have a name, y'know!" Naruto screamed at Kō. "And don't you dare hurt Hinata! She didn't do anything wrong!"

Kō acted decisively to shut down Naruto. He turned to face the blond and activated his Byakugan, freezing Naruto in place with his fierce glare and murderous aura. The jinchūriki still needs to learn his place in this village, he thought with no small amount of disdain. He did not know nor care how much pain his actions here would bring upon Naruto.

"Uzumaki," Kō intensified his glare as he addressed Naruto. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from Hinata-sama."

Naruto tried to move, tried to do something, but this was even worse than the incident with the bully trio. The bully wasn't attacking him, but at the same time, he didn't have to attack. He was drowning in the bully's aura, his body refusing to obey his commands to move and use that jutsu so he could stop him and save Hinata. All he could do was watch as the bully grabbed Hinata's wrist and forced her to start walking away. And all Hinata could do was give Naruto an anguished look as she was taken away from him.

By the time Naruto recovered, it was too late. Hinata and that Kō person were long gone. He had lost his first real friend again and he hadn't been able to do anything to stop it.

And unbeknownst to him or any of the other few people who cared enough to do something about it, his life was only about to get even worse.

* * *

Naruto sank into a deeper depression than ever as he sat back down on the swing, watching as the rest of the students left. For the second time in his life, he had let himself get lured by the false hope of finally making a real friend, and his mistake reminded him of his eternal loneliness. What made it worse was that somewhere in his heart, he felt like Hinata wasn't pretending to be kind just to hurt him. But someone else had still objected to their friendship. Someone who had the power to make sure she couldn't be his friend.

 _I can't let this get me down though,_ Naruto thought, trying to shake himself out of his depression. _Once I get some ramen in my stomach, I'll feel much better! Then I can figure out what I'm gonna do about this._ Satisfied with this, he hopped off the swing and started walking towards Ramen Ichiraku to order himself several bowls of the divine, heartwarming meal.

Only to stop and take several steps backward when he saw Sakura sitting by herself on a stone bench to the right of the Academy's front gate. Naruto observed that Sakura was waiting for someone. It wasn't difficult to guess who.

 _She probably thinks Sasuke will come along any moment now._ Naruto knew better than to delude himself like Sakura was evidently doing to herself. If Sasuke had told Sakura to wait on him, his intent would have been to make sure he rid himself of Sakura once and for all.

That thought gave Naruto an idea. Realizing that Sakura had not noticed him starting to walk out of the gates, he took several more steps backward, hiding behind a tree for extra cover, then made the hand seals required to perform one of the three ninjutsu he was taught how to use at the Academy, the Henge no Jutsu. A few seconds later, Naruto was enveloped in a cloud of smoke, which quickly faded to reveal a perfect physical copy of Sasuke. _Hehe! This is my chance to win Sakura-chan over for good!_ he thought to himself, feeling triumphant as he casually approached the object of his affections, who was now paying full attention to him and smiling widely.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura greeted in her usual manner.

"You don't need to yell all the time, Sakura," Naruto-as-Sasuke softly chastised her. Inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't slipped up and attached the affectionate suffix which the real Sasuke never used.

Sakura blushed as she shyly replied, "Oh, well, it's just that I didn't think you would actually come, so I kinda got excited."

"Why would you think I wasn't coming?"

Naruto's question caused Sakura to respond by looking away to hide her embarrassment, which he found to be cute. "Ever since that day, you've always been so distant. I still remember what you were like before then, back when we first enrolled at the Academy. You were different back then. You were friendly. And to be honest, I was surprised when you asked me to wait for you out here. It didn't seem like you. But it also gave me hope. Hope that I might be able to help you."

Those were some of the few days that Naruto remembered well. Shortly after the Uchiha Massacre, Naruto had found Sasuke sitting by himself near a pond, but due to his pride, he had been unable to approach Sasuke. But for all the animosity between them, Naruto was perhaps the only one in their class who truly understood what Sasuke went through every day since that day. And yet Sakura had known a different side of Sasuke from before Naruto first met the jerk. And finding this out about Sakura had only increased Naruto's own determination to win her over. Like him, Sakura wanted to be acknowledged. She just hadn't figured out yet that Sasuke would never acknowledge her.

"Actually, Sakura, that's bothered me for a while now," 'Sasuke' said. "Why do you even like me in the first place?" He didn't really care what answer she gave to that question. The asking was simply part of his plan to convince Sakura that the real Sasuke would always reject her.

"Well, what's not to like about you, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura answered. "You're basically everyone's dream boy. Always acting so cool and collected, excelling at everything you do. It'd be more surprising if people didn't admire you." It was the typical response of a fan girl, of someone who only saw Sasuke as a trophy husband. But Sakura had also reminded Naruto just a minute ago why she was different enough from all the other fan girls that she wasn't a lost cause like they were. If she could just be broken out of her obsession with Sasuke, she would be the ideal girlfriend.

And Naruto had decided this was the perfect opportunity to break Sakura of her obsession.

"If that's how you really feel, then you're just wasting your time," Naruto-as-Sasuke said, taking care to make sure his words were something the real Sasuke would have told her. "What you want to have with me, it isn't going to work out."

For what seemed like an eternity, an expression of disbelief was frozen on Sakura's face as she tried to register what 'Sasuke' had just told her. Once it sunk in that 'Sasuke' was rejecting her to her face, her thoughts turned to a mixture of panic and outrage.

"WHAT?" Sakura nearly screamed.

"To be honest, you're not the problem," 'Sasuke' continued, trying to make this fake rejection as painless as possible for Sakura. "It's actually me. I just can't be with anyone right now. Sorry."

Sakura's face dropped as her mind absorbed those words. "Oh. Is that how it is?" she asked, and 'Sasuke' nodded. "I see. I'm sorry for being such a bother, Sasuke-kun," she added, and was about to get up off the bench and walk home when 'Sasuke' stopped her with his next question.

"Why don't you give Naruto a chance?" Naruto-as-Sasuke asked. "He may be an idiot, but he's the only boy in the class who actually likes you. I'll never understand why, though." It was supposed to be the perfect plan. Belittle Sakura just as Sasuke would do, in such a way that she would have to take the advice given to her, if only out of spite.

But any seasoned shinobi would have known that no plan ever survives first contact with the enemy. In this case, the enemy was Sakura. And she was an enemy Naruto had badly underestimated.

"Are you kidding me?!" Sakura screamed, shooting up from the bench and leaving 'Sasuke' stunned with how much offense she took to his suggestion. "Who would ever want to go out on a date with… with him?!"

"What makes you think that, Sakura?" 'Sasuke' was now demanding more than asking. "What do you really think of Naruto?"

"Oh, please! You know perfectly well what I think of him, Sasuke-kun! As you said, Naruto's an idiot! He's always so annoying! Going on and on about how he'll become Hokage someday! He's like a broken record! Does anyone even take that pointless drivel of his seriously?! And don't even get me started on his diet! Every day it's always the same thing, ramen, ramen, and more ramen! He's such a picky eater, it's disgusting! Doesn't he know how unhealthy it is to eat so much ramen? Doesn't he know there's other kinds of food he should be eating instead?"

 _But no one will even let me buy anything else,_ Naruto wanted to tell Sakura, but as much as he needed her to understand the truth, as long as she remained fooled by his Henge no Jutsu into believing he was Sasuke he had no choice but to remain silent and endure her rant.

"Then when he's training he always messes up, but he doesn't know when to quit! It's embarrassing and quite frankly it's pathetic. Not only that, but he goes around pulling all these pranks on people and starting fights with you and most of the time he doesn't even get in any serious trouble for it!" Sakura lifted her arms up in exasperation and closed her eyes before continuing her rant, but in a softer voice, "I guess it makes sense since he doesn't have parents. Actually, I'm kinda jealous of him for that. Naruto's lucky he doesn't have any parents to tell him what to do. If I tried to pull even a tenth of the stunts he tries, my parents would ground me forever!" Then she grew visibly angry again and put her hands on her hips before resuming her shouting. "But then again, his parents probably knew what he would turn out like so they abandoned him on purpose! Would anyone really want to raise someone like him?"

 _But my parents are dead, so they couldn't have…_ Naruto felt like he was drowning in negative emotions. Sakura's rant challenged what little he thought he knew about the family he'd never had. Was she right about him? Was he really so pathetic, annoying and disgusting that no one would ever want anything to do with him?

But it was Sakura's next words that would truly shatter Naruto's soul in such a way that the pieces would be nearly impossible to put back together.

"Honestly I don't think anyone would miss Naruto if he disappeared. He'll never become Hokage and he'll never have any friends! Why can't he just GO AWAY?!"

If there were any pieces of his soul left to be shattered after Sakura finished her rant, Naruto felt them all shattering like the most fragile glass. He had put so much of his efforts into winning her over, yet she truly believed, just like everyone else, that his very existence was an unforgivable sin. Sakura had laid it out for Naruto in painful detail: there was not a single redeeming quality to him. Everything about him was wrong, and nothing he could do would fix that.

"What did I do wrong, Sasuke-kun? Why are you crying?"

Naruto hadn't even noticed until Sakura pretended to start showing concern that her rant had brought him to tears. Fearing that he would be discovered now and she would tear through him to break what hadn't already been broken, he turned on his feet and ran away as fast as his legs would allow, leaving Sakura bewildered at what she had said to upset her crush.

* * *

Naruto neither knew nor cared where he was running. Even if he had tried to look, his vision was too blurry from the unending wave of tears flowing from his eyes. The only thing he knew was that he had to run away, as far as humanly possible, and never look back. Everything Sakura said about him back there made sense—too much sense. All the villagers were actually right to hate him and there was nothing he could do that would convince them they were wrong.

When his legs finally gave out, he fell face-first into the dirt and continued bawling his eyes out. He hated himself for being such a crybaby, having learned a long time ago that no one would comfort him when he felt the need to cry, but he couldn't make the tears stop. There was just too much heartache.

Once the tears slowed down enough that Naruto's vision cleared, he realized that he had been crying for so long that night had fallen over Konoha. And furthermore, when he looked down he realized that he had run all the way to the top of the Hokage Rock. Naruto quickly scrambled backward. If his legs had carried him just a few meters further, he would have run right off the top of the stone carving of the Fourth Hokage's head and fallen to his untimely demise.

Naruto took several deep breaths to calm himself and then hopped down off the cliff and onto the Fourth's head, and carefully moved closer to the edge of one of the spikes of the Fourth's hair. In a way, it made sense that his natural instincts would bring him here. He had always idolized the Fourth Hokage. The Fourth had given his life to save Konoha during its darkest hour, the night the Kyūbi no Yōko (Nine-Tailed Demon Fox) attacked. It just so happened to be the same night Naruto was born, presumably also the night his parents were killed. That is, if they had actually been killed…

"So this is how a Hokage sees the world, huh?" Naruto thought aloud. From this spot, the highest location in Konoha, he had a perfect view of most of the village below. From the abandoned Uchiha district on the outskirts, haunted by the murders of its residents, to the lit up and lively market district closer to the center of the village, Naruto felt like he could see everything in the village he called home. And he couldn't help but wonder if the previous Hokage were still able to share the view Naruto had from his seat atop the monument. "But I guess I'll never know for sure," he said in his depression. After all, as much as he had wanted to become Hokage, he now knew that his dream was dead. Just as he had come so close to being.

Naruto's sight focused on a tiny figure at one of the market stands. He couldn't tell for sure since he was so far away, but it looked like a little kid, and just behind this kid were two other figures who Naruto could only assume were the kid's parents. Yet even from this distance, it looked like they were all enjoying themselves. Like they were all happy.

"Were my parents like that? Or would they have hated me too? Was I so much of a burden on them that they really just abandoned me like Sakura claimed?" Naruto did not know what to believe anymore. A big part of what had kept him going was the hope that his family, had he been able to have a real family, would have given him the attention he needed so desperately. But now all of his hopes and beliefs were broken. Was he nothing more than a mistake his parents shouldn't have made? Had he really grown so arrogant in his misguided belief that someone like him could transform himself into a symbol of leadership and admiration by becoming the Hokage?

All he had ever wanted was for people to stop treating him like he didn't exist. He wanted to feel like his existence mattered. He wanted them to let him help them so that he would feel like he was needed. Was that really so wrong? If he was to allow Sakura's hatred of him to decide the truth, then he already had the answer. And if that was really the case… hen the only way people would ever acknowledge his existence…

…was if he _ceased to exist._

This time, he knew it was the perfect plan. If Naruto just went away like Sakura wanted, she and everyone else would be much better off without him. No one would have to deal with his pranks and other nonsense anymore, no one would ever look at him with contempt. They might even go so far as to thank him for finally leaving them in peace.

"I guess there really wasn't much of a point in becoming Hokage anyway," Naruto thought wistfully as he stood up. "I just wanted people to acknowledge me. But now I know that even if I did achieve my dream, they'd still find a way to ignore me." As he stood at the edge, just centimeters away from falling off and bringing his short and miserable life to an end, a memory flashed before his eyes. For that brief moment, he was back at the Academy, receiving an assignment from Iruka.

_"If the world were going to come to an end tomorrow, who would you like to spend your last day with?"_

At the time, Naruto had brushed it off as a silly question. There was no way any of the ways Iruka had described for the world to end were going to happen. But now that he was facing his own death, he thought he finally understood the purpose of that assignment. He closed his eyes and tried to think of someone, anyone who mattered enough… or more specifically, anyone who felt he mattered enough.

He had no memories of his parents, nor any knowledge of who they had been, and he had deliberately forgotten his other caretakers because of the lack of affection they had given him, so they were out of the question. He tried to think of his fellow classmates, namely Kiba, Shikamaru, and Chōji. While it was true the four of them had often skipped class together to go fool around, Naruto didn't feel like they had ever truly been his friends. Even his fellow 'dead lasts' had only seemed to tolerate him at best, taking more interest in how they were choosing to fool around than the fact they were doing so together. Everyone else treated him like he was the plague. Well, everyone except for Hinata, but that Kō person had made it clear that she wasn't allowed to have anything to do with him. And even if that weren't the case, she seemed like such a nice person that he knew he couldn't burden her with his sins. To do so would be selfish of him, and horrible for her.

The thought of Hinata still lingered in his mind, though. Now that Naruto remembered their first meeting he was tormented by the memory and his inability to understand why he had forgotten it for so long. But given what had happened in that meeting, he felt he was unworthy of her friendship. Why else would he have neglected to seek her out during the time they attended the Academy? And yet… there was something about Hinata that made him hesitate, just for the slightest moment, and want to reconsider what he was about to do. Naruto was convinced of his own worthlessness, but perhaps in another life, he might have been allowed to pursue Hinata. Sure, when she wasn't showing her cute blush she looked fairly plain compared to some of the other girls in his class, but she was far more gentle than they were, and…  _Who am I kidding,_ Naruto quickly derailed that train of thought. _Sakura made it clear that no one would ever like me, least of all someone like Hinata._

As for Sakura, now that she had opened his eyes to his cruel fate Naruto no longer knew why he had ever sought out her affections. Empathizing with her desire for acknowledgment wasn't enough to explain it anymore. Had he simply been so desperate to prove he could win someone over that he had latched onto the person he thought he had the best chance of convincing? If that were the case, then he had been so very wrong to try, just as he had been so very wrong in everything else in his life.

Maybe that was the problem. Maybe he simply did not deserve to be loved. Being alone his entire life, Naruto had no way of understanding what it was like to be loved. His need to discover that feeling drove him to single out Sakura and emulate the crush she had on Sasuke, but it worked a little too well: Sakura rejected him every time, just as Sasuke rejected her and everyone else every time. That wasn't supposed to be what happened. Love was supposed to be a good thing, but as Naruto reflected on it, the shattered pieces of his soul continued to break apart as he remembered every time he had been shunned by others in his pursuit of love. All he had ever wanted was to find someone who would fill his empty heart with love, someone who would help him get the rest of the village to accept his own love. But there was not a single person alive who was capable of giving him what he needed most. And because of that, just as he had always lived alone, he would ultimately die alone.

No matter how hard he searched his feelings, Naruto could not find an answer to Iruka's question. All he could find was the pain of loneliness, and it was a pain he could no longer endure.

"Damn it! I still can't think of anyone!" Naruto shouted, trying in vain to force back the tears that were as stubborn as he was. He took one last look at the village below him, then reached behind his head to untie the _hitai-ate_ Iruka-sensei gave him for passing his final exam at the Academy and let it fall first. "I won't even get to die as a true shinobi," he lamented, his last words that no one would either hear or listen to. He closed his eyes for what he thought would be the last time and allowed himself to plunge into the depths of the hell he was convinced he deserved.

He did not fall very far before hearing a cry of anguish, and his fall was stopped just as quickly as it had started.

Stunned that his fall had been broken so soon, Naruto opened his eyes and looked up to see that someone had jumped off after him, and was grabbing onto one of his arms while trying to use her other arm to pull them back up onto the top of the Fourth's head. And to his complete horror, it did not take Naruto as long as it had the last time he saw her to recognize his would-be rescuer.

"What are you doing here?!" Naruto cried.

The girl who was trying to stop him from falling to his death, but would also die if she failed, was none other than Hinata…


	2. Abyss

_Earlier that night…_

Three years and ten months. That was how long had passed since Hinata's first encounter with Naruto, and how long it had taken her to build up the confidence to speak to him on her own after all the psychological abuse she had suffered from the Hyūga Clan. Only to have it mercilessly crushed at the worst possible moment.

Upon her forced return to the Hyūga estate, Kō had informed her father and the other elders of Hinata's interrupted conversation with Naruto after her class was dismissed. To Hinata's surprise, Hiashi Hyūga did not scold her for daring to go against the elders' warnings. But she was so used to hearing her father demean her that she still expected him to remind her of her worthlessness later that night. The treatment Hiashi gave her helped her relate to Naruto's own suffering. If Hiashi wasn't verbally abusing her, he pretended that she didn't exist.

Hinata couldn't understand why her own clansmen and the rest of the villagers were so adamant in their stance against Naruto. What had Naruto done wrong in the past that could make him universally despised? Hinata was well aware that Naruto was a prankster and while she did not condone his behavior, she understood that all he was trying to do was get people's attention. That was why she was drawn to Naruto, why she sought out his presence as often as she could. Naruto understood the pain of loneliness better than anyone, yet he did not succumb to it. Hinata admired Naruto for his strength. She wanted to find that strength within herself, and she also wanted to help ease his pain. She had pushed herself so hard to get closer to him, and yet it was all for nothing.

She had become aware shortly after enrolling in the Academy of how the team selection process was handled, and had been determined to make sure she was placed on the same team as Naruto. To succeed had required her to demonstrate during her time in class that her strengths and weaknesses made her the most compatible kunoichi to pair with Naruto, showing that she would be the best person to cover his weaknesses. To achieve this goal, Hinata had worked and studied tirelessly to keep her grades up, more for Naruto's sake than for the recognition of her father, who only enrolled her in the Academy because she had failed to meet the Hyūga Clan's standards and lost her position as heiress. But as she had found out today, all her efforts were for naught. Sakura was the kunoichi chosen to be on Naruto's team, and the decision left Hinata feeling discouraged. But that was not the only reason Hinata was upset. It was not in her nature to lose herself to anger, but the way Sakura treated Naruto infuriated Hinata. The only crime Naruto had ever committed against his pink-haired teammate was wanting to show her affection, but it was a severe enough offense in Sakura's mind that Sakura abused Naruto for it, both verbally and physically. And then there was Sasuke. Hinata could not see what her female classmates saw in the Last Loyal Uchiha. They all viewed him as "cool" and "collected", obsessing over his natural talent, but Hinata saw through Sasuke's stoic façade and recognized his unhealthy obsessions. Sasuke was Naruto's opposite in almost every aspect, and Hinata could not see anything good in store for anyone who continued to pursue the Uchiha as a love interest.

While Hiashi had not scolded Hinata for trying to speak with Naruto, he had placed an increased guard on her to make sure she stayed on clan grounds until tomorrow morning, when she would have to leave for her team assignment. Hinata was forced to wait for them to be called off in order to sneak out of the estate through her bedroom window, and when she did get free, she knew she would have to find Naruto fast, before anyone noticed her absence. She searched everywhere she knew, from her personal observations she made over the many times she had followed Naruto in secret, that he was likely to be found, starting with Ramen Ichiraku, then his apartment, then the Academy, and then the Third Training Ground, all while trying to stay out of sight of everyone but the few people in Konoha who weren't hostile towards Naruto. When she couldn't find Naruto at any of those places, she tried one last location, the Hokage Rock. And as she ran up the stairs, scanning the location with her Byakugan, that was when she noticed Naruto laying down on the ground, dangerously close to falling off the edge, but refusing to get up. This brought out a gasp from Hinata, and she tried to run up to him to pull him to safety, but when he started to get up on his own and back himself away from the cliff she was forced to hide.

For several minutes, Hinata stayed behind a nearby tree as Naruto tried to calm himself and walked back towards the edge. She watched with great trepidation as Naruto sat down on top of the stone carving of the Fourth Hokage's head. She deactivated her dōjutsu and followed Naruto, being careful to do so quietly so he wouldn't notice her and be startled enough to fall off. Hinata wanted nothing more than to call out Naruto's name and lead him back towards her, towards the safety she could provide, but with her confidence still shattered and his being in such a dangerous spot, she was forced to stay silent. Whether it was a blessing or a curse, she completely escaped Naruto's notice even as she made it to the edge of the cliff and started watching him from above.

Hinata had secretly spied on several of Naruto's private training sessions outside of class and was well aware of the attitudes he'd frequently display. So she knew right away that something was wrong with Naruto as he continued to sit, appearing to be lost in thought. His head would turn ever so slightly, not enough to catch her in his peripheral vision, but enough that Hinata could notice how his cheeks were wet from tears. This observation only made her grow more concerned for Naruto; this was the first time she had ever seen him cry. And when he started speaking, the anguish in his voice nearly caused her to give away her position.

"So this is how a Hokage sees the world, huh?" Naruto had asked himself before going silent again. Hinata was confused; if Naruto was just thinking about his dream to become Hokage, then she thought that he shouldn't be this upset. Her confusion grew worse when he went on, "But I guess I'll never know for sure."

 _Is Naruto-kun doubting that he'll achieve his dream?_ Hinata asked herself. _I should be down there with Naruto-kun to reassure him, not watching from up here like a coward… but…_ Her confidence was so badly wrecked that she couldn't even complete that sentence in her own head. She could only watch as Naruto looked towards the market district, physically unable to reach out to him as he fell deeper into a proverbial abyss.

"Were my parents like that?" Hinata's confusion was about to soar at that question from Naruto before he added, "Or would they have hated me too? Was I so much of a burden on them that they really just abandoned me like Sakura claimed?" Hinata covered her hands to muffle the gasp that escaped her mouth. She then started shaking in anger as she still unwillingly remained rooted to the spot where she stood. Now she knew why Naruto was in so much pain tonight. Sakura had said something that was far worse than her usual insults, and dealt him a greater injury than her fists alone were capable of inflicting. She should have jumped down right then and there, but her legs refused to move. Her own insecurities continued to paralyze her in these critical moments.

"I guess there really wasn't much of a point in becoming Hokage anyway," she heard Naruto say as she watched him stand up. "I just wanted people to acknowledge me. But now I know that even if I did achieve my dream, they'd still find a way to ignore me."

 _Naruto-kun is giving up his dream?_ Hinata's heart broke for Naruto as she listened to his sorrow, helpless to do what she knew she should be doing. _Did Sakura-san really hurt Naruto-kun that badly?_

"Damn it! I still can't think of anyone!" Naruto shouted. His voice was filled with more pain and sorrow than Hinata had ever experienced, more than anyone should be forced to endure. Tears began blurring her vision to the point that she almost could not see Naruto walking forward, removing his _hitai-ate_ and letting it fall out of his hand towards the ground below. She rubbed her eyes to clear out the tears, and what she saw and heard next would haunt her for the rest of her life… however long it lasted after tonight.

"I won't even get to die as a true shinobi," Naruto lamented. His arms were spread and his eyes closed, surrendering himself to the abyss that would claim his life.

"NOOOOO!" Hinata cried out in anguish, jumping down to stop Naruto. She was already too late to stop him from jumping, but she knew that if she did not stop his fall now, she might as well let herself fall to her own death right there, because she could not fathom the thought of living without him. Hinata fell off the Fourth Hokage's head and grabbed at Naruto's arms, barely managing to get a hold of him with her right arm, then pushed chakra into her left hand and tried to keep herself fastened to the Fourth's cheek. Having Naruto's entire body weight pulling down on her arm was already placing heavy strain on her muscles, and she was already losing her strength as she desperately hung on for dear life. For her life, and his.

And Naruto, realizing his fall had been stopped, gave her a look of horror as he cried out to her, "What are you doing here?!"

* * *

Hinata groaned in pain as she struggled to keep her grip on the stone carving of the Fourth's head. Her legs flailed uselessly as she could not manage to plant her feet on the cheek for necessary leverage, not without allowing Naruto to fall. Trying to keep her grip on him was causing the muscles in her right arm to tear, and she lacked the physical strength necessary to throw him back over the cliff. Naruto himself wasn't making her struggle any easier; he was trying to pull himself free, and it took everything Hinata had in her to maintain her grip on him.

"Hinata, what are you doing?! Why did you come here?!" Naruto demanded.

"I should be the one asking you those questions, Naruto!" Hinata answered with her own demand. "Why are you trying to kill yourself?!"

"It's none of your business!" Naruto was vehement in his insistence on making her drop him. "Just let me go! Save yourself while you still can!"

But Hinata was equally stubborn in her insistence on holding onto him. "I can't do that! I won't do it!" she yelled back, grimacing from the pain wracking her arm. It did not go unnoticed by Naruto. Nor did the fact her other hand, the one stopping them from plummeting to their deaths, was scraping against the surface of the rock and starting to leave a trail of blood as his weight pulled her down.

"Hinata, this is insane! You can't hold on forever, so let me go!"

"No!" Hinata shook her head violently, and some of her tears landed on Naruto's face. "If you fall, I'll fall with you!"

"What the hell are you talking about? Don't waste your life on someone like me, Hinata! My life isn't worth giving up yours!"

"Don't you dare say that!"

"Hinata, just—" Naruto tried to say, but Hinata stopped him in mid-sentence by locking eyes with him. Her facial expression shook Naruto down to his core. Her eyes were filled with tears and she looked like she was in greater emotional agony than she was physical. Yet she was giving him a stern look in spite of that pain.

"Listen to me, Naruto-kun," Hinata begged. "Please don't say your life isn't worth it. That's just not true. If your life is worthless, then mine is equally so."

"It _is_ true, Hinata! I'm just a burden to everyone. All I do is mess things up and hurt people or get them angry. My entire existence is a sin and I can't redeem it! But you aren't like me. You're one of the few people in this village who's nice and caring. My dream was selfish but you're not! I may not know much about you, but you've shown me enough that your life is more precious than mine! So please just let me go!" Naruto just couldn't understand why Hinata was risking herself for him now. Or why anyone would. He was so completely convinced that his own existence did not matter. Which made it all the more confusing and painful for him when Hinata asked,

"Who told you that you were worthless?"

Naruto wanted to respond that it didn't matter. There were so many who did not bother to hide this truth from him. Yet he couldn't. He was still overwhelmed by his confusion over Hinata's actions towards him.

"Even if the entire village told you that, Naruto-kun, they are wrong," Hinata continued. "Even if they believe you are worthless, I do not."

"What do you know?!" Naruto shouted. "We only met once before today!"

"Every day when you can afford it, you visit Ramen Ichiraku. Your favorite order is miso ramen, with extra _char siu."_

"So what? Everyone knows that about me! Sakura said it's disgusting!"

"After class, you frequently go to the Third Training Ground and don't return to your apartment until well into the night," Hinata ignored Naruto's protests. "You always leave a spare key underneath your mailbox, but you never go in right away. And every time you walk inside and shout out 'I'm home!' to the empty apartment, it breaks your heart just a little more, knowing there's no one there to welcome you home."

Naruto's eyes widened and he stopped struggling to get free of Hinata's grip. _How does she know all of that?_ he wondered. It did not occur to him that she might have been watching him since that day.

"Each morning, as part of your daily routine, you water the plants you keep inside your apartment. Then when you finish your morning rituals, you run towards school so you won't be late for class, because you can't stand receiving a lecture from Iruka-sensei over tardiness. On occasion, you would skip class with Kiba-kun, Chōji-kun and Shikamaru-kun, though I was never able to join you on those days. Regardless of what happened in class, you frequently lingered around after school ends for the day, sitting by yourself on the swing outside of our classroom, watching as everyone else goes home to their families. You have a bitter rivalry with Sasuke-san and a hopeless crush on Sakura-san, but they and everyone else are so set in their beliefs that any victories you achieve are dismissed as a fluke."

Naruto was lost for words. Hinata had described almost every aspect of his daily life better than he could, if anyone ever decided to ask. A lot of it was stuff everyone knew, but she had also described things that no one but him knew were part of his life. There was a certain level of intimacy in her knowledge of him, and it was too much for him to bear.

"H-How do you know so much about me?" Naruto finally asked.

"That isn't all I know about you, Naruto-kun," Hinata answered. "I know that in spite of the treatment you receive from the people of this village, you still care for them. You claim that you want to become Hokage because you want to be acknowledged, but buried deep within that claim is the need to protect the very people whose acknowledgment you seek. You want to be able to take care of them like you take care of your plants, and place their needs above your own. Tell me, Naruto-kun…" she broke off her speech for a few moments and closed her eyes, and Naruto felt more of her tears land on his face. "How is that selfish? How does that make your existence a sin?"

Naruto found it impossible to believe what he was hearing. Yet he knew Hinata wasn't lying or trying to deceive him because if she was, she would not have risked her life to save him. Her words resonated deeply within him and brought out feelings he could not describe, because they were so foreign. He wondered if these feelings were what it was supposed to feel like to have someone truly care about him. But why did she care? Even if she was just a good person in general, why would Hinata go so far for him?

If Naruto had asked those questions aloud, Hinata would not have been able to provide an answer. She couldn't describe the true extent of her own feelings, but she believed with all her heart that if Naruto were to die, she would not be able to continue living in a world that lacked his warm presence.

"And you're wrong about something else, Naruto-kun," Hinata went on, visibly struggling to find the courage to continue her speech to Naruto as she simultaneously struggled to keep them anchored to the Hokage Rock. "I'm the one who's worthless, not you. You want people to see you for who you really are. You want them to let you protect them. But me? I don't care about any of that. I only have one desire, but acting on it now makes me selfish."

"Hinata, please…" Naruto said halfheartedly. His resolve was starting to waver, and yet he couldn't stand to hear anymore from her. "Please just let go of me. If you sacrifice yourself, it'll only prove that everything I touch gets ruined."

"No. I won't. I can't." Hinata shook her head again as she continued to deny Naruto the death he didn't deserve. "I just told you that I'm being selfish. The one thing I truly want…" and her voice trailed off again for a few more painful seconds, only long enough to lock eyes with Naruto again, "…the one thing I desire above all else is to protect you…"

"But why?" At this point, Naruto was so astounded by Hinata's claims that he was second-guessing his decision to jump to his death. "I don't get it, Hinata. Why would you go so far for someone like me?" he asked, every centimeter of his face etched with the desperate need to understand.

And Hinata's answer to that question would remind him of why he had struggled so hard in the first place to gain everything he had been denied:

"Do I need a reason to help someone?"

Naruto yet again was rendered speechless by her words—no, _his_ words, that he'd once spoken to her on a cold winter day. They were the words that gave Hinata the drive to change herself for the better, one little bit at a time. Those words had changed Hinata's life. And hearing Hinata say them to him now caused Naruto's entire perspective on her to change as well. Had he really made such an impact on her that day, that he inspired her to adopt his approach to life, to never give up no matter what?

Unfortunately for them both, Hinata's chakra reserves chose that moment to give out on her. Hinata felt her hand detach from the stone carving and as her strength failed her, she could only look on in horror while she and Naruto resumed their fatal fall.

Naruto had only a few seconds to figure out how he was going to save Hinata. He frantically pulled her into his arms, hoping that his body would absorb enough of the impact to save her life. And for the first and last time in his life, as he cradled Hinata in his arms, he uttered a silent prayer to whichever higher power might have it in them to listen.

_Please, if there's a god out there somewhere, please give me the strength to protect something just this once!_

The last thing he felt before his world turned to black was a large tree branch smacking the back of his head.

* * *

Back at the Hyūga estate, Hiashi was busying himself with the more menial tasks that were required of a person in his station. As one of the more influential shinobi clan heads in Hi no Kuni, he was often bogged down by the paperwork associated with various propositions, both from civilians and from allied shinobi clans which resided outside of Konoha. Paperwork was not only the bane of a Hokage's existence, and there would occasionally be times when Hiashi's mind was filled with thoughts that were unbecoming of a Hyūga. Wishes for a return to when his duties were simpler.

Physically, Hiashi was an imposing figure. At one hundred and seventy six point five centimeters, his height was somewhat taller than average. He dressed traditionally, donning a set of loose-fitting robes with a long-sleeved brown haori, which was exceedingly simple attire for someone with his status. But in no way did that attire take away from the presence he carried.

Hiashi set aside the paperwork for a few seconds and quietly activated his Byakugan, focusing its vision on his eldest daughter's room. Unsurprisingly, Hinata had taken it upon herself to escape from her confinements. While he expected her to slip past the notice of her guards, he was also not amused by her continued disobedience, nor by the incompetence shown by those guards in allowing her to escape.

Hiashi stood and walked to the door of his private chambers. "Kō-san!" he called out. In an instant, Hinata's chief bodyguard was outside the door, kneeling in front of him.

"You summoned me, Hiashi-sama?" Kō inquired.

"It would appear that you have shown negligence in your duties yet again." Hiashi crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly, indicating the direction of Hinata's bedroom. Kō sighed and activated his own Byakugan to confirm that his charge had escaped the premises yet again.

"Forgive me, sir. Hinata-sama is quite adventurous."

"That is an _interesting_ choice of words for you to describe her infatuation with Uzumaki," Hiashi observed.

Kō gulped. He had been aware of Hinata's crush on Uzumaki almost as soon as she started taking to following the boy and it had not taken long for Hiashi to notice it as well. He told Hinata many times to stay away from the boy, shutting down any attempts she made to ask why, only for her to continue to seek him out. Hiashi himself had tried to turn a blind eye to what Hinata chose to do in her free time, but her actions reflected poorly on the clan as a whole. Every time she sneaked away to indulge in her favorite pastime, Hiashi risked a confrontation with the elders, who were much quicker than he to express their displeasure with her behavior. Wasting time on the elders was not a luxury they could afford.

"I recall giving explicit instructions to prevent such an occurrence. And yet here I am, wasting more time by pointing out to you that this is the fourth time over the past week she has ran off to watch Uzumaki."

"As far as I am aware, Hinata-sama had never made direct contact with the boy until this afternoon, sir," Kō pointed out, a weak and futile attempt at putting up a defense.

"Irrelevant. I do not have the time to humor her petty crush, not when many of the elders believe we should ignore established clan law and mark her with the clan's cursed seal, banishing her to the Branch House. Need I remind you that it is your fault she likes the boy in the first place? Had you been doing your job that day when those miscreants targeted her, she and Uzumaki would never have met." Hiashi was referring to the day Hinata had been sent to enroll in the Academy, three years and ten months ago. How Hinata had managed to escape Kō's notice then, Kō still had not figured out. Perhaps if Hinata had been born into any other clan, she would be commended by her clansmen for her knack for escape. "I have heard quite enough of your excuses, Kō. Gather a search party and bring her back. I don't care if you have to drag her back here or even rough her up a little. Make sure she understands this time how many problems her disobedience creates for herself and for the rest of the clan."

"Understood, Hiashi-sama," Kō acknowledged the order and disappeared. Hiashi was just about to return to his work when he sensed another presence, and decided not to move at all. He did not have to turn around or activate his Byakugan to confirm the identity of the intruder who was sitting at his desk, looking over his paperwork.

"Sandaime-sama," Hiashi addressed him. "Even though you are the Hokage, it is still rude to show up unannounced."

"Hiashi-san, I see the years have made you into a stickler for tradition," Hiruzen replied, also not moving a single muscle other than to speak. "They have also apparently caused you to forget your manners."

Hiashi scoffed at the pointless observations. "I take it this is not a courtesy call."

"Afraid not. I was about to notify you that you have been summoned, but when I overheard that… _interesting_ conversation, I decided to give you the courtesy of allowing it to finish first." Which Hiashi understood to mean the Hokage was letting him set himself up to be humiliated.

"May I ask why you have come here to summon me in person?"

Hiruzen did not answer right away. Instead, he stood and walked outside to stand next to Hiashi, then lit his tobacco pipe and took a long puff, while appearing to contemplate what to say. He continued to remain silent for a few minutes, something which was unusual enough that it would have elicited a comment were he not here in person. Whatever had happened, had caused the Hokage a great deal more stress than usual.

"Walk with me, Hiashi-san," Hiruzen finally commanded. "I must return to the hospital to oversee the treatment of two high-priority patients. When we arrive, I will tell you the reason for this summoning."

"Very good, sir," Hiashi said, stepping back inside his chambers only long enough to slip on a pair of sandals before joining Hiruzen outside the estate. The walk continued in silence up until they arrived at the main lobby on the first floor, when Hiruzen decided to speak.

"There was an attempted suicide about an hour ago," he said, and Hiashi was quick to detect the regret in his voice as they walked down the hallway.

"If it were anyone else informing me of some fool who decided it wasn't worth it to keep living, I would question why they were wasting my time," Hiashi commented.

"You know full well that he isn't an ordinary fool, Hiashi-san. The boy who tried to end his own life tonight is none other than Uzumaki Naruto."

Hiashi's eyes widened a tiny fraction, and the muscles in his face twitched violently. It was the most telling reaction Hiruzen saw from him in this meeting. The Hokage recognized that Hiashi was struggling with what he wanted to say; words spoken with emotion were not permitted by Hyūga decorum, nor by the social protocols which applied to their conversation. It took ten seconds for the Hyūga in Hiashi to win out and suppress the emotional response he should have made.

"It would appear that I overestimated the boy's tenacity. A shame. He would have made a fine shinobi once someone managed to set him straight."

"Spare me your crude remarks, Hiashi. We both know you don't care about Naruto," Hiruzen tried to provoke the emotional response again, only to be disappointed by Hiashi's next reply.

"It is unbecoming of you to put words in other people's mouths, Sarutobi," Hiashi repaid Hiruzen's disrespect by addressing him by his clan name and without honorifics, and otherwise showed only annoyance with that attempt. "Uzumaki's exploits in the Academy were interesting enough. But a man in my station has more pressing matters than to worry himself about whether any action he might take for the boy's benefit would be interpreted as a violation of your law, or would lead to a violation."

"Does acting in Naruto's benefit include the efforts you have made to prevent Hinata from befriending him?"

"What Hinata does in her spare time is of no concern to me." It was spoken too quickly and with all the characteristics of a canned reply. "The problem is with my father, who usually makes no effort to hide his disdain towards her. Arguments of that sort usually grow very heated in a short time. As the clan head, I must keep the elders in check and I must maintain certain appearances."

"If your objective is to save face, then it is an exercise in futility," Hiruzen said grimly, opening a door close to the end of the hallway and walking down the stairwell. What few emergency and operating rooms were located in the basement levels of Konoha General Hospital were typically reserved for specific patients with specific cases. As Hiashi followed Hiruzen down the stairs leading to these rooms, he realized that he did not like where this meeting was headed.

"As I said before, a suicide was attempted by Naruto," Hiruzen continued as they approached Naruto's room. "Thankfully, the attempt failed, but the fact the attempt was allowed to be made creates a serious crisis for this village. Naruto still sustained serious injuries, fracturing his skull, several ribs and both legs, but they will all be repaired in time. Whether the damage to his psyche can be repaired remains to be seen."

"What did Uzumaki do? Jump off the Hokage Rock?" Hiashi asked. The stern look Hiruzen gave him made him immediately regret asking.

"Naruto must have thought that would be the swiftest way to end his life. Someone else managed to intervene and prevented his injuries from proving fatal." Hiruzen stopped a few meters away from his destination, to increase the emphasis on his next words. "Hiashi-san, you claim that your eldest daughter's actions do not concern you. If I were you, I would have retracted that statement before we arrived here." He walked forward to open the door, gesturing for Hiashi to look inside, and sure enough, the first person Hiashi saw confined to the beds was not Naruto, but _Hinata._

The sight of his injured daughter finally caused Hiashi to lose control over his anger.

"What the hell was she doing up there?" Hiashi demanded. "And why didn't you stop me from sending Kō out to locate her?" The demand he should have made, but did not have the necessary clout to get away with making, was _Why didn't_ you _do anything to stop Uzumaki from attempting suicide?_

"When I arrived at the scene, she was huddled over Naruto, screaming out his name," Hiruzen ignored the Hyūga patriarch's demands. "She passed out shortly afterward. Naruto, bless his heart, tried to absorb the impact, but Hinata did not come out of the fall unscathed. She suffered a concussion, broke her right arm and leg, and scraped most of the skin off her left hand. Her physical injuries will heal. But like Naruto, it is unknown whether her mind will recover from this traumatic event."

Hiashi backed away from the door and clenched his fists. "Damn it all. Why hasn't that girl learned how to listen?"

"Are you saying that because you actually care for her well-being or because you are trying to perform damage control?" Hiruzen prodded. It earned him a glare from the Hyūga patriarch.

"Why does it matter? Once Hinata recovers, she will return to the estate and resume her duties as a Hyūga."

"It is a rare occasion when I am caught by surprise, Hiashi. I expected you to disown her after this incident. Regardless, your latest mistake is in assuming that I will permit Hinata to return to your clan's estate after she is released from here."

Hiashi intensified his glare at the Hokage. Out of all the shinobi loyal to Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi was one of only three who could get under Hiashi Hyūga's skin like that. Hiruzen, often called the Professor, was renowned throughout the Five Great Shinobi Nations for his exceptional skill and wisdom, and was one of the few who earned the legendary title of God of Shinobi. Even in his advanced age, there was a reason why he had been called upon to reclaim the position of Hokage after his successor's death. The other two were Jiraiya of the Sannin, whose perversions were as infamous as his feats in the two major wars in which he fought, and Danzō Shimura, disgraced former member of the Konoha Council and a man Hiashi could not respect in any capacity. Everyone who was unfortunate enough to have dealings with Danzō remained wary of the war hawk's treachery. Hiashi was well aware of the history between Hiruzen and Danzō. The two clashing elder figures had once served as teammates under a platoon led by the Second Hokage, and they were said to represent light and shadow. Yet as he stood here now, Hiashi felt that Hiruzen's behavior was more typical of Danzō, with just a hint of Jiraiya's mannerisms mixed in, than it was his own.

"May I ask what your plans for her are?" Hiashi said carefully.

"I cannot answer that question at this time, because I honestly do not know," Hiruzen said. "Inoichi-san will arrive shortly to scan Naruto's mind and discover the cause of this incident as well as determine the extent of the damage to his mind. Afterward, Naruto and Hinata's jōnin instructors will be briefed on Inoichi's findings. Only then will I come to a decision on what role Hinata will play in Naruto's recovery, and which information you need to know in regards to my decision." He resisted the urge to light up his pipe again as he analyzed Hiashi's inner thoughts. "Do you have any problem with this? I will again point out that you said, 'What Hinata does in her spare time is of no concern to you.'"

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, it is dangerous to meddle in clan matters. The elders will not be the only ones who will be displeased to learn that you have stepped in."

"Frankly, I don't give a damn. This stopped being a clan matter when Naruto made the choice to take his own life. As it is now an issue of _village security_ , I will be taking most of the responsibility for how it is addressed. If you handle your end correctly, it may even reflect positively on your clan's reputation."

Hiashi closed his eyes for a moment to consider the scenario as described by Hiruzen. With the Hokage becoming personally involved, the elders would not be able to abuse their standing in the clan to demand answers. Hiruzen had also hinted that there was a possibility his response would include emancipating Hinata from the clan, which would relieve Hiashi of any responsibilities towards her, eliminate the threat of the elders going against clan law and branding her with the Caged Bird Cursed Seal, and possibly give her a chance to live in happiness. Provided everything played out in just the right way, it was a win-win. But the incident which brought this on didn't make any sense whatsoever.

"Why would Uzumaki try to kill himself?" Hiashi whispered. "And just after graduating from the Academy?" Hiruzen neglected to answer right away, instead closing the door to the room where Naruto and Hinata were recuperating. "And Hinata has never been subtle when it came to expressing her feelings for the boy. There is no way this can be a coincidence."

Hiruzen turned back to face Hiashi, and for the first time in years, the Third Hokage's eyes were burning with righteous anger. "It would be in your best interests to instruct the rest of your clan to cease their alienation of Naruto _immediately,"_ he spoke in a commanding tone that left no room for any answer other than complete obedience. "I have yet to confirm all of the relevant details, but shortly after Iruka dismissed his students today, Hinata attempted to congratulate Naruto for graduating, only for Kō to step in and reprimand your daughter for speaking with the boy, displaying a powerful killing intent. His actions will require a steep punishment. As you know, the laws I put in place to protect Naruto from the hatred of his fellow villagers failed to work as I intended. His peers largely took after their parents and shunned him, and he has not been able to make even a single friend. Today should have changed that. Today, Naruto should have made his first real friend, but she was cruelly taken away from him for no justifiable reason. Take the rest of the night to think on that, Hiashi. You are dismissed."

As Hiashi walked away, he clenched his fists harder, making no attempt to hide his fury. This was nothing less than a complete humiliation for him. But once he returned to the estate, a certain bodyguard was going to pay dearly for his role in this catastrophe.

* * *

Hiruzen sighed deeply as Hiashi stewed in his anger during his departure. He could still remember a time when the Hyūga Clan's head would have shown the concern any father should when learning his daughter was seriously injured. Hiruzen knew he was partially to blame for why Hiashi had turned cold; he had fallen victim to the Raikage's blackmail and allowed the Hyūga Clan to sacrifice Hiashi's twin brother after the clan head had foiled a kidnapping attempt against Hinata on her third birthday and killed the would-be kidnapper, who'd just so happened to be the Head Ninja of Kumogakure. Coupled with the loss of his wife a few years after the "Hyūga Affair," and it was little wonder why Hiashi became the way he is now. And there was nothing Hiruzen could do to address the issue of Hiashi's broken soul. For now, all he could do was try and mend the damage to the two souls in the room in front of him.

A few minutes passed before the sound of footsteps was heard again coming from the staircase leading to the ground floor. Hiruzen did not have to avert his gaze to know that the other clan head he'd summoned had arrived.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Inoichi-san," Hiruzen addressed the new arrival.

"You summoned me, Hokage-sama," came the reply from one Inoichi Yamanaka. "But the message your Anbu left was vague. Could you kindly explain to me why the summons was so urgent?"

"You'll find out as soon as you walk through that door. But I must warn you, you will not like what you see inside." Hiruzen opened the door and walked inside first. When Inoichi followed, he was immediately and deeply disturbed by the sight that awaited his eyes.

Hinata had been stripped of her regular bulky outfit and was covered only by a thin green hospital gown along with bandages that were wrapped around most of her body, and blood had soaked through some of the wrappings. Her right arm and leg were encased in bulky white casts and were suspended above the bed by numerous wires affixed to the ceiling, and intravenous drips were inserted into her left arm, replenishing lost blood and keeping her hydrated. As for Naruto, he looked even worse. Both of his legs were also in casts and suspended above the bed, and the rest of his body, including his head, was covered in bandages and stitches, with only his face and a tiny spot on his left arm for IV drips left exposed to the air.

"What on earth happened to them?" Inoichi asked, clearly horrified by the sight. He was more horrified when Hiruzen flinched from the question before shaking his head.

"Naruto tried to kill himself by jumping off the Hokage Rock," Hiruzen said in a somber tone. "Regrettably, I was caught in an important meeting with the Daimyō's wife at the time the incident occurred and was not able to keep surveillance on Naruto through my crystal ball. By the time the meeting ended, he had already made the jump. Hinata was the only person who knew what was happening and tried to stop him, only to receive injuries that are almost as serious as his. But had she not intervened when she did, Naruto would not still be alive."

Inoichi snapped around to glare directly into Hiruzen's eyes. "It's no wonder Hiashi-san was so unsettled when I passed by him on my way here. Shijimi-dono is not held in high regard by most of the clans in this village. And if that is your—"

"Take great care what you say next, Inoichi," Hiruzen warned the Yamanaka clan head.

Inoichi sighed and blinked several times. The very idea that Naruto would be allowed to attempt suicide, and that a _civilian_ , no matter how important that civilian was to the village, was at least partially responsible for the absence of surveillance on Naruto—there were no words to adequately describe Inoichi's frustration with the Hokage. And he was left without the option of expressing that frustration.

"What you just told me doesn't make any sense," was all that Inoichi could say. "Why would Naruto do this?"

Hiruzen again resisted the urge to light up his tobacco pipe for stress relief. "Hiashi-san asked the same question before I dismissed him, Inoichi-san. That question is why you are here. We are short on time and need answers as quickly as you can find them. Naruto has never shown any signs of experiencing suicidal thoughts. His mind was abnormally resilient in the face of the neglect he suffered his entire life. But tonight, Naruto proved that even he had his limits. Go inside his mind and find out what pushed him past those limits."

Despite the urgency in the Hokage's voice, Inoichi not only failed to immediately comply with the order, he actually took a step backward. Hiruzen was about to repeat his order when he saw the same thing in Inoichi's eyes that he had seen earlier in Hiashi's. Specifically, an unspoken demand. He did not need to have the mental ninjutsu of the Yamanaka Clan to know what Inoichi really thought of this mess, or to know that even though Inoichi had already stepped out of line, he did not feel he could do so again by speaking his thoughts, even if Shikaku and Chōza were present to back him up.

"Inoichi, please. I am no longer ordering you as your Hokage. I am asking as an old man who has failed too many times to do what needed to be done. I know you wish to make a demand of me. You want to know why I let this happen. And I promise you will have the answers you seek. But first, we must try to rectify this failure."

Inoichi nodded, appearing temporarily satisfied with the promise of answers. "Understood, sir. But I will hold you to your word." Hiruzen's only reply was a reluctant nod as Inoichi walked forward and placed his right hand on Naruto's head.

* * *

"This is Naruto's mindscape?" Inoichi wondered aloud just a few seconds after using the  Saiko Denshin to gain entry. In his many years since he first became a shinobi, he had viewed more than his fair share of mindscapes that showed various levels of deterioration in their owners' mental conditions, but he could not recall viewing one that was as bad as Naruto's. His surroundings took the form of an abandoned industrial plant, but he could see that the structure was in very poor condition. Several of the lights were burned out or broken, while the pipes running along the walls were badly rusted, and the walls themselves were crumbling apart. "What happened to him to cause this?"

 **"An ill-mannered human such as yourself needs to learn not to stick his nose where it doesn't belong, or to ask questions to which he already knows the answers,"** came the immediate, and unexpected, answer from an evil entity. Inoichi spun around to see a massive metal gate behind him, locked with an ofuda bearing the kanji for "Seal". Behind it stood a colossal orange fox with sinister red eyes, ears that resembled a rabbit's, and human hands instead of paws. Nine large tails were waving behind the creature and it bared all of its teeth at Inoichi. But Inoichi stood his ground against it.

"The only being here that doesn't belong is you, _Nine-Tailed Demon Fox,"_ Inoichi said, a clear statement of challenge. "Yondaime-sama should never have sealed you inside Naruto. He should have taken you with him into the Shinigami's stomach."

The Kyūbi, the creature that had nearly destroyed Konoha when it was released from its former container over twelve years ago, snorted at Inoichi's defiance. **"Your feeble attempt to take the moral high ground disgusts me. You humans are commonly consumed and corrupted by your lust for power. You think nothing about trying to bring superior beings to heel and steal their power for yourselves, and even less of who among your kind you have to sacrifice to control that power. What gave you the gall to appear here? What sacrifice do you demand from me or my pitiful container?"**

Inoichi's breath hitched slightly from the Kyūbi's guttural voice. He, like most of the adult population of Konoha, had witnessed the Kyūbi's attack on Konoha and knew full well about the monster fox being sealed inside of Naruto, and he had a high enough standing in the village that he was privy to more than the basic details of that night. But the creature's imprisonment inside Naruto made it risky for Inoichi to enter Naruto's mindscape, so he did not believe he would see the Kyūbi again. And while he remained in the creature's evil presence, he was finding it increasingly difficult to stay calm.

 **"You are trying to reassure yourself that your mind is safe,"** the Kyūbi observed. **"Your thoughts ring loudly in my ears. Understand this. Your attempts to delude yourself into a sense of security are futile. I know the mechanics of the seal that keeps me imprisoned inside this pitiful child better than even that accursed Yondaime Hokage, who created the seal that keeps me here. And because of the brat's stupidity, the seal has weakened. I have bid my time since the moment I was sealed away, waiting for my opportunity to escape, and now it is so close I can already savor the taste of freedom."**

"Where is Naruto?" Inoichi demanded, filing away the Kyūbi's allegations to bring up to the Hokage later. The Kyūbi was less than impressed by his resisting its attempts to cower him into fleeing.

**"Don't pretend that you care about the kid. He is just a weapon to you, and a useless one at that, seeing as he has lost the will to live. The fall from the monument your village made to your wretched Hokage may not have killed him, but he will soon die regardless."**

"Tell me where he is!" Inoichi repeated his demand. The Kyūbi did not answer, but Inoichi received one anyway, but not like he had expected. He heard another voice behind him, murmuring something incomprehensible, and snapped around towards the back of the plant to investigate. He sprinted for what his mind perceived to be a distance of roughly twenty meters when the source of the voices became visible, and the sight he beheld ranked among the most horrific things he had seen in his life. "Dear God, no…"

Naruto was sitting against the wall, legs pulled up to his chest, almost in a fetal position. The water underneath him had turned black, like spilled ink, and sections of the walls around him in that section of the mindscape had weakened even more than the rest of the plant, some of them having even collapsed entirely. Where those walls should have been, Inoichi instead saw a purplish void. He could only conclude that this was the innermost part of Naruto's mind, the part where he suppressed his darkest memories and feelings. If the deterioration were allowed to progress any further, Inoichi knew that Naruto's mind would collapse entirely.

As Inoichi ran closer to Naruto, the scene took yet another turn for the worst. Numerous ghost-like silhouettes manifested and surrounded the boy, whispering words that were unintelligible to Inoichi, but clearly contributing further to Naruto's already dire psychological state. These images had to be representations of the many villagers who had shunned Naruto over the course of his childhood.

"No… stop it…" Naruto moaned weakly. "Leave me alone… please just leave me alone…"

Inoichi wasted no time in rushing towards Naruto and grabbing his shoulders, trying to bring him back to his senses. "Snap out of it, Naruto!" he yelled. "Those images aren't real, so don't let them torment you!" Naruto seemed to be able to recognize that he was speaking and looked up at him, and the expression in the boy's eyes caused Inoichi to flinch. His blue eyes were missing their pupils and his face had lost most of its color, giving Inoichi the impression that he was staring into the face of a ghost.

"Have you come to hurt me too?" Naruto asked, his voice also devoid of life.

"What? No, Naruto, I'm here to—"

"Please kill me," Naruto interrupted Inoichi, grabbing onto one of the Yamanaka clan head's arms. "Please just kill me so I won't hurt anyone anymore. Please. I promise I'll be good. I promise I won't cause any more trouble."

Inoichi recoiled from Naruto's words. It wasn't until he tried to move again that he realized he had not done so voluntarily. His confusion soared as the silhouettes began to disappear, only for another one to approach. He tried to reach out and pull Naruto away from the silhouette, but only found himself being pushed back farther.

"What the hell? Did Naruto's mind just repel me?" Inoichi tried to move forward again, but was frozen in place as the new silhouette glowed with a brilliant white light and wrapped its arms around Naruto. For the briefest moment, Naruto's expression changed, seemingly finding some measure of comfort in this new presence's embrace. And in the next moment, both Naruto and the ghost vanished.

Shaken by what he just witnessed, Inoichi marched back to the Kyūbi's cage and slammed his palms against the metal bars. "What did you do to Naruto?!" he screamed at the Kyūbi, only for it to roar back with enough force to push him backward.

 **"You forget your place in this world, human. I have, thus far, done nothing to push my jailer over the edge. But I cannot say the same for you,"** the monster fox said in disgust.

"Stop being vague and speak clearly!"

**"The obvious is always elusive to your kind. You humans are the most pathetic species to inhabit this earth. You never own up to your own faults and choose instead to pin the blame on others, selecting the targets for your blame based on personal convenience. Your history shows time and time again that those you curse to host entities such as myself bear not only the hatred of the entity they contain, but the people whose protection is only secured by the sacrifices you force the accursed to make without their consent, and all without the decency of telling the chosen sacrifice why they must bear the hatred of their fellow humans. Your village is responsible for condemning this boy to an eternity of loneliness and misery. You forfeited the right to act self-righteous the night you allowed him to be set on this path. And if we are going to be honest, if I was capable of feeling anything other than hatred or apathy towards humans, I would almost feel sorry for the kid."**

Inoichi clenched his fists as he absorbed the Kyūbi's message. Loath as he was to admit it, the fox was right about him, and making this admission caused him to submerge himself in a sea of regret. Inoichi was one of the rare few adults in Konoha who did not hold any ill will towards Naruto for the burden the boy carried, but like everyone else in Konoha, he had chosen not to make any attempts to improve Naruto's life. He had done nothing to act against Naruto's ostracizing by the village at large, and through his inaction proved himself just as guilty of their sins against the boy. Yet Naruto had somehow endured the pain from those trespasses and kept fighting to change the way he was seen by the village. And the Kyūbi's rants about human nature failed to provide Inoichi with an explanation for what drove Naruto to suicide.

"I was witness to the atrocities you committed during your one night of freedom, and while I did not happen to witness the greatest atrocity of them all, I am still aware of the burden Yondaime-sama placed on Naruto that night, right after he was born," Inoichi said carefully. "And I am fully aware of how my complicity has contributed to the strife Naruto faced during each and every one of his waking moments. But while I do not know Naruto personally, which is something I now deeply regret, I know that he would not just give up on living unless someone or something pushed him to his breaking point. So I will repeat my question as many times as it takes for you to answer truthfully. What the hell did you do to Naruto?"

For a few seconds, the mindscape went completely quiet. The Kyūbi stared curiously at Inoichi, contemplating whether it would be easier to rid itself of the Yamanaka's unwanted presence by continuing to acquiesce to his demands. But just dwelling on the thought made the creature lash out in malice. It gripped the bars that kept it separated from the human presences in its domain and let loose a great roar which carried away some of the rust on the walls and caused the water to retreat.

 **"Pointless, meaningless confessions,"** it declared, choosing yet again to ignore the Yamanaka's demands. **"Even now, you would leave the kid to fend for himself. Should I satisfy your demands and tell you the reason he is so desperate to kill himself, once you have had your way and sent him back to that attic that is a sorry excuse for a home, the first moment he finds himself without supervision he will seek out another means of ending his life. And while you only have contempt for my opinions, you would be better served by putting the kid out of his misery yourself. Killing him now will be the first and only time your village ever showed him mercy."**

Inoichi gritted his teeth. He didn't expect an entity like the Kyūbi to cooperate, but he was running out of options and Naruto was running out of time. The deterioration of Naruto's mindscape was truly alarming and Inoichi knew that if a massive, collective effort by Konoha's elite was not made to reverse it soon, Naruto's mind would be lost.

So he did the only thing he felt he could do. And it only worked because the sheer rage he felt from the Kyūbi's constant accusations took it by surprise.

"Shinranshin no Jutsu!" Inoichi shouted after forming a non-standard hand sign. The Kyūbi, despite its much stronger will, was caught in the jutsu and rendered immobile for a few seconds, which was just enough time for Inoichi to force it to perform a single action. Inoichi used those few seconds to bring the monster fox crashing down onto the floor, leaving it stunned by its temporary loss of control.

"If Naruto dies, I swear I'll make sure you are sealed away in a place where you will never see the light of day again. You'll be buried so deep that your existence will be lost to the pages of history. The current generation will only know of you as a bedtime story told to frighten them into good behavior. Future generations will never again be burdened with the knowledge of your existence."

The Kyūbi roared louder than it could care to remember roaring over the past nine hundred years plus of its existence. Humans had always tried to subdue it, deny it what it longed for most, and now this Yamanaka, this so-called shinobi who was an even greater mockery of its creator than most, dared to make his own attempt, and for what? The well-being of a boy whose existence did not matter to the rest of his kind?

 **"You don't have the ability to act on those threats,"** the Kyūbi howled as it locked eyes with Inoichi, still in disbelief that he had managed to land a blow on it. **"You can throw out as many words as your lungs and vocal cords permit, but they are meaningless on their own. All beings are defined not by their words, but by their actions. So if I am to consider cooperating with you after your act of aggression, tell me this. What will you do should the kid, by some miracle, actually find the will to continue living? Do not say what you** **_intend_ ** **to do or what you** **_plan_ ** **to do; only what you** **_will_ ** **do."**

Inoichi was stunned by the monster fox's latest speech. True to form, it still lacked compassion, but its words struck a deep chord nonetheless. As a jōnin, he remained somewhat limited in what actions he was authorized to take. But even without that limitation, was there really anything he could do to make Naruto regain the will to live? Anything that would also convince the fox that he would keep his word?

"It is as you said… I could waste all the words in our language expressing my intentions or laying out my plans, but none of it would matter. The most I could do on my own is attempt to stop the deterioration of Naruto's mind from progressing any further," Inoichi admitted, bowing his head. As he spoke, he could barely make out a smirk forming on the Kyūbi's snout. "But while it may be beyond my ability to help Naruto start the healing process, I know there is one person in this village who has that ability," he declared, lifting his head to stare down the Kyūbi in a show of defiance. "Someone who can become his pillar of strength. Naruto will live, regardless of whether or not you choose to help him!"

The Kyūbi's smirk vanished as Inoichi's words sunk in. This nonsensical drivel was just about what it had expected to hear, and yet it could sense that something had changed. For once, it had come across a human who was actually sincere. That this sincerity would come from one of the mind-walkers, one who was guilty of the worst perversion of its creator's forgotten teachings, made it even more unthinkable.

 **"So, you do have some backbone, which is more than I can say for most of your kind,"** it grunted. **"Because of that, I will yield to you this one time. But after I show you what happened to the kid, you will wish you had not dared to trespass in his mind. Now come here."** The fox stuck one of its hands out through the bars. Inoichi only obeyed its demand to walk towards it because he was able to recognize its submission.

Once Inoichi was close enough, the fox tapped his forehead with the nail of its index finger, and in the next moment, Inoichi's mind was flooded with Naruto's memories of the past twelve hours, from the moment he woke up to the moment he lost consciousness. And Inoichi didn't just see what Naruto saw, he felt the same emotions Naruto felt in those memories. Inoichi felt Naruto's pain, and it was so pervasive and so overwhelming he could not find the words to adequately describe it. He felt Naruto's despair when Hinata was forcibly separated from him by her bodyguard. He felt Naruto shatter when Sakura delivered her rant and told him that no one would care if he disappeared. He was drowning in Naruto's sorrow as the boy contemplated his imminent death and tried to think of someone important enough for him to be with as his world ended. And when he left this mindscape, his blood would run cold from the chill of that death as Naruto's _hitai-ate_ fell, signaling his abandonment of hope and his surrender to the abyss.

When the stream of memories ended, Inoichi found himself being expelled from Naruto's mindscape with a final warning from the Kyūbi:

**"You would do well to never enter the kid's mind again for as long as he still lives."**

* * *

Inoichi took several deep breaths as he opened his eyes and found himself back in the hospital room, which was a lot more crowded than it had been when he arrived. In addition to Hiruzen and a pair of medic-nin, the Yamanaka clan head found himself in the presence of Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yūhi, and the remaining probationary genin who were assigned to them for testing: Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, Kiba Inuzuka and his ninken Akamaru, and Shino Aburame, all of whom were dressed in various assortments of sleepwear, and all of whom were showing different expressions of either annoyance or legitimate concern.

"What did you find in there, Inoichi-san?" Hiruzen asked.

It was with great apprehension that Inoichi turned to face the Hokage and answered, "It's worse than I thought, Hokage-sama. A _lot_ worse…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Silent's notes: I don't like writing Hiashi as a Jerkass. I prefer Hiashi to be more caring (while still being strict so he isn't OOC). I also *strongly* dislike bashing and normally tend to lean towards making characters better/more likable than they are in the source material in a conscious effort to avoid this. Alas, this is one of those stories where I have to do some things I am uncomfortable with for the sake of the narrative. Even then, I'm trying to keep those to a necessary minimum if and when they become unavoidable.


	3. Festering Wounds

Kurenai Yūhi, genjutsu specialist, was officially the third jōnin holding herself back from stepping out of line and making demands of Hiruzen Sarutobi once she saw who was being treated inside this hospital room below the surface of Konoha. The vagueness of the message delivered to her in her bedroom by an Anbu had left her confused at first, but when she saw who else had gathered at her destination she knew that something had gone horribly wrong.

Even without her reputation, Kurenai tended to stand out in a crowd. Her height was slightly above average for a kunoichi, and she had untamed black hair along with distinctive red eyes. She normally preferred to wear a red mesh armor blouse and _sarashi_ instead of the standard Konohagakure shinobi uniform, only donning the latter for specific meetings as it was uncomfortable for her to wear the accompanying flak jacket. Due to the late hour she had been summoned and the urgency of the summoning, however, right now she only had on a white bathrobe worn over a red chemise. It was not the first time an Anbu messenger had shown up at an awkward hour; Kurenai remembered one particular incident when she had been summoned to the Hokage's office while she was in the shower, and had needed to use a  Henge no Jutsu to preserve her modesty.

During her eighteen years as a kunoichi, Kurenai built her reputation by focusing her training in less commonly employed ninja arts, specifically genjutsu—in which she'd immediately shown herself to possess a natural talent that rivaled the Uchiha Clan's prowess in the art prior to their downfall—and fūinjutsu. While she had only recently been promoted to jōnin rank, her skills in her primary areas of expertise earned her recognition as one of Konoha's elite ninja.

But right now, she felt like none of her prior accomplishments mattered. She hadn't tested her students yet and already she felt that she had failed them, after seeing one of them receiving treatment for serious injuries inside this subterranean medical wing.

"Hokage-sama, what is going on here?" Kurenai lost control of her anger and issued her demand. The demand may not have been justified, but the anger driving it had grown too strong to fully contain. The recent events preceding this incident didn't help matters any: earlier that day, when Kurenai met with Hiashi Hyūga to discuss the team placements, the Hyūga patriarch had more or less abandoned Hinata to her tutelage. She had yet to be properly introduced to Hinata, only catching a brief glimpse of her during that meeting, and yet Kurenai was already fiercely protective of the ex-heiress. It was a given that Hinata would be assigned to a tracking team, and after that encounter with the girl's father, Kurenai was determined to ensure that Hinata flourished under her instruction.

"That is exactly what I would like to know as well, Kurenai-san," Hiruzen said, far too calmly for her liking. "Inoichi-san just finished examining Naruto's mind and was about to explain why this happened. But before he does, I must inform you of what happened that required your presence here at this late hour. The reason you're here is because earlier this evening, Uzumaki Naruto attempted to end his own life."

Kurenai's eyes widened as she focused her sight on the bed next to Hinata. She was old enough to remember the Kyūbi attack on Konoha twelve years ago, but young enough at the time the attack happened that she had been prohibited from participating in the defense of her village. So she was fully aware that Naruto had been chosen to contain the Kyūbi by the Fourth Hokage. But to the best of her knowledge, the treatment Naruto had received from most of the civilian population had failed to push him over the deep end, even if it was only reasonable that it happen eventually. It also didn't explain why Hinata would be unconscious in the bed next to him.

"I don't believe this," Kiba whispered in disbelief. From inside Kiba's gray pajama top, Akamaru gave a low whine in agreement. Kiba was one of the few students at the Academy who had tolerated Naruto enough to hang out with him on occasion, and while he didn't know Naruto very well, he had never thought the knucklehead would even think about suicide.

"Naruto…?" Sakura asked slowly, showing a surprising amount of concern given her previous treatment of the blond. She was also shocked that he would try to pull something like this. "How did this happen?" she gave a shaky voice to the question on the minds of the rest of her peers.

"Sakura, our investigations into the matter have identified two culprits behind Naruto's suicide attempt," Inoichi addressed the pink-haired girl, narrowing his eyes at her. "You are one of them."

Sakura's eyes widened in horror. "What are you talking about? I never saw Naruto after Iruka-sensei dismissed us today!"

"And you didn't think that was unusual?" Inoichi prodded. Sakura had to bite off her instinctive denial as she quickly realized that yes, it was unusual that Naruto would not try to speak to her. "The reason you didn't see Naruto was because he was using a  Henge no Jutsu ."

Now Sakura's eyes had widened so much that it looked like they would pop out of their sockets if they widened any further. "You… you mean…?"

"That's right," Inoichi confirmed with a nod. "Who you thought was Sasuke was, in fact, Naruto, disguised as the object of your obsession in the hopes of breaking you of that obsession and winning your affections. And he heard everything you told him, even your claims that it wouldn't matter if he didn't exist."

Sakura's legs gave out on her and she fell hard onto the floor, burying her face in her hands in a futile attempt to hide the horror she felt from the others. "No… that isn't what I meant! I just… I just wanted him to leave me alone! I didn't want him to do THIS!" she wailed.

"So we know why Naruto is here. But what about Hinata?" Shino asked, swiftly moving the discussion away from Sakura. Both Kurenai and Hiruzen sighed at the detachment in his voice.

"Under normal circumstances, it is not my place even as Hokage to reveal personal information about a Konoha-nin to their comrades of equal or lower rank without their consent, but as your assigned jōnin instructor knows, Hinata has a habit of following Naruto and trying to remain unseen by others," Hiruzen explained. "I am thankful she developed this habit, because had she not followed him tonight Naruto would most likely not be alive right now. Hinata tried to save Naruto, but she was badly injured by her efforts."

"Why did you let this happen to them?" Kurenai yelled at Hiruzen, abandoning protocol. She knew she was way out of line trying to make demands of the Hokage, but Hinata was her student, dammit! She wasn't about to let any further harm befall the girl, and she was furious that the Hokage had allowed this incident to occur in the first place.

Just as soon as the words slipped out of her mouth, she heard moans of pain coming from Hinata's bed. Apparently, Kurenai's anger had roused the girl from her unconscious state. All eyes in the room shifted their gaze towards Hinata as she moaned out something incoherent and tried to sit up, only to fall hard against the bed as the pain from her injuries overwhelmed her. Kurenai rushed to her bed and knelt down next to her on her left.

"Take it easy, Hinata," Kurenai said in a gentle tone. "You shouldn't try to move right now."

"Ngh…" Hinata groaned as she tried to remember what happened before she blacked out. Her eyes stung from the light in the room, and it would take time for the sting to go away. She knew her right arm and leg were both broken and she could feel a pillow underneath her head, so she was most likely back at the clan's estate, but her mind was still trying to reboot and remember how she had been injured enough to end up at her current location. "Wha… what happened?" she asked, her voice slurred.

"You had a major accident, Hinata. You're in the hospital right now. Please don't try to move around."

"Ha… hospital? B-but…" Hinata was cut off mid-stammer by a sudden flare of pain in her broken leg. After another loud moan, she carefully lifted up her head and saw that both that leg and her right arm were in casts, and her left hand was wrapped in blood-soaked bandages. "H-how…" she tried to ask softly.

"Can you tell us what you remember from tonight?"

Hinata gave Kurenai a weak nod. "I… I went out to look for Naruto-kun. When I found him, he was distressed, and I knew something was wrong with him. I tried… I tried to talk to Naruto-kun, but then he…" Her voice trailed off as her head turned slightly to glance at the bed to her right. When she saw the unconscious Naruto who very much resembled a mummy with how many bandages were wrapped around him, the memory of her fall rushed back to her. Her eyes shot open and she immediately panicked.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata cried. A fresh wave of tears clouded her vision as she tried to yank herself free of her current constraints and get to Naruto.

"Calm down, Hinata! You're going to hurt yourself worse if you don't stay still!" Kurenai scolded her.

"I don't care!" Hinata protested. "Naruto-kun is in more pain than I am! Naruto-kun needs me!"

"You need to listen to your jōnin instructor," one of the two medic-nin spoke up, moving to help Kurenai restrain Hinata while the other reached for a vial in his utility belt that contained a sedative.

"No! I need to help Naruto-kun!" Hinata refused to comply. She was traumatized by watching Naruto jump off the Hokage Rock and while she had been powerless to save him from getting hurt, she would not let anyone stop her from helping him now, not while she still had the strength to move. As the second medic-nin came forward to put the sedative into her IV drip, she tugged on the wires holding her broken leg in place hard enough to rip them out of the ceiling, then kicked the first medic's thigh with her newly freed leg, forcing him to release her and allowing her to kick the other medic with her other leg hard enough to cause the vial to drop to the floor and shatter.

"That was extremely dangerous, Hinata!" Kurenai snapped at her. "All you're doing right now is showing them why they need to sedate you!"

"Let me go, dammit!" Hinata screamed back. "I need to be with Naruto-kun! I need to help Naruto-kun!"

Kurenai was at a loss for words. From the report Hiruzen gave her on Hinata prior to her meeting with Hiashi, Kurenai was under the impression that the former heiress was meek, timid and obedient, and disliked confrontations. Kurenai also noted that her assigned teammates appeared to be completely stunned as well by Hinata's current behavior. Hinata was vehement and unyielding, disregarding her own safety in her insistence on doing whatever she thought she could do to help Naruto. She was even willing to utter curses towards the people restraining her as part of her protests against being restrained. Whatever had happened to lead to her fateful encounter and near-death experience with Naruto, Kurenai saw it had left Hinata deeply shaken.

"I would strongly recommend doing as Hinata asks," Inoichi said. Kurenai instantly released her grip on Hinata and snapped around to face the head of the Yamanaka Clan.

"Inoichi, you can't be serious!" Now it was Kurenai's turn to protest.

"I don't need to enter Hinata's mindscape to know that her mental state has also deteriorated greatly. Trying to sedate her now will increase the risk of permanent damage to her mind. And before you try to argue, let me state that what I found in Naruto's mind was horrific. I don't want to imagine what I might find in Hinata's mind if I were to examine her now."

Kurenai turned back towards Hinata, who had ripped out the wires holding up her right arm from the ceiling and was still struggling to get out of the grip of the first medic-nin. Then she looked to the Hokage, who nodded at Inoichi, and sighed deeply. "Alright," she conceded. "It's okay now, Hinata. You don't have to struggle anymore. We'll let you help Naruto."

Hinata stopped struggling the moment she heard Kurenai give in, but did not get a chance to thank her instructor as she found herself carefully lifted into Kurenai's arms. The two medic-nin lifted the bed and frame up and carried it around to the other side of Naruto's bed before placing it back down, positioning it so that there was no space between the two. Hinata whimpered while Kurenai walked back to the bed and gently laid her down, while the medics gathered extra pillows to stack under her broken limbs and prop them up until the wires could be reattached.

"Na-Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered, tears still streaming down her cheeks as she reached towards Naruto with her left arm. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I wasn't able to protect you from this…"

And for now, all Kurenai could do for Hinata was the same thing everyone else in the room was doing: fall into a respectful silence and give her time to let her feelings out.

* * *

"Inoichi-san, do you have any further questions?" Hiruzen asked shortly after Hinata's sobbing subsided.

Inoichi shook his head. "Not at this time, Hokage-sama. I believe I know everything I need to for now based on what I saw in Naruto's mind. With that being said, I am requesting permission to examine the rest of the students here, for safe measure." This caused all of the conscious probationary genin in the room to turn towards him and protest.

"You already got what you wanted from me!" Sakura yelled. "Don't go messing with my head!"

"For once, I agree with Sakura. What the hell do we have to do with this?" Kiba asked angrily, backed up by a growl from Akamaru.

"It is is simply a precaution," Inoichi explained. "Naruto nearly died tonight and no one could have predicted it. It is for your safety as much as it is for our peace of mind."

"Che. This is a waste of time," Sasuke muttered. He folded his arms in front of his bare chest and looked away from Inoichi, and was only staying put because there were too many stronger ninja in the room to keep him from walking out.

The fourth protest, from Shino, was not conveyed in words. The angry buzzing of his kikaichū was more than enough to tell Inoichi what he thought of this.

But all of their responses were expected, to a certain extent.

Hinata's response was _not._

"Don't screw with me…" Hinata whispered. Everyone in the room turned their heads towards her bed, disbelief carved into their faces by what they had just heard coming from her lips.

"Hinata…?" Kurenai asked worriedly.

Hinata sat up and gazed coldly at the group gathered, particularly the adults. "The Hokage, the Anbu, Iruka-sensei, and two elite jōnin didn't know this would happen? What a load of crap," Hinata cursed again. Everyone's eyes widened even further, this time they definitely heard Hinata swear and were shocked the girl was capable of such an act. "Don't tell me you didn't know how mistreated Naruto-kun has been. Don't stand there and lie to me…don't you dare stand there while Naruto-kun is in pain and lie to me, damn it!" Hinata yelled, her eyes glistening with righteous rage. "The truth is you didn't _care_ enough to stop this before it happened!" _Everyone_ was momentarily left in stunned silence at her outburst, even Hiruzen, who was hit the hardest by her words.

"I'm going to assume this is your concussion speaking," Kurenai was the first to recover and attempt to reprimand Hinata. Hinata narrowed her eyes at Kurenai as she spat out her reply.

"I am in complete control of my feelings right now, Kurenai-sensei. And right now, my feelings are telling me that this entire situation should have been avoided, and _would_ have been avoided if people had tried harder to understand Naruto's suffering!"

"Hinata, you are on very thin ice right now. I would choose your next words very carefully if I were you," Kurenai warned her charge.

"Or what? What punishment could you possibly give me that would be worse than the hell I have already suffered through tonight?"

Before Kurenai could give her the obvious answer, Sakura burst into mocking laughter at Hinata's fury and pointed an accusing finger at her. "Don't try to act all high and mighty here, _Hyūga-hime!"_ Sakura yelled at the bedridden ex-heiress. "You didn't do anything until the last possible second. All you did the whole time was follow Naruto around like a stalker. You're just as guilty as the rest of us!" Kurenai was about to step in again and yell at them to stop, but Hiruzen held up his hand, indicating he wanted to see how Hinata would respond.

Hinata's face was downcast as she sounded like she was choking back sobs when she finally answered. "You're right, _Haruno-san._ I am just as guilty as you. No, my guilt is greater than yours. I knew that I could have, that I should have helped Naruto-kun. But I didn't. I let my fear and cowardice control me. Maybe if I had tried to be Naruto's friend, none of this would have ever happened. So yes, it is my fault he is like this…" Sakura had a huge smirk on her face, but it vanished as Hinata raised her head and activated her Byakugan, fighting off the pain her dōjutsu activation caused her as she stared down Sakura and engulfed her in a murderous aura. "But I have decided that from now on, I won't let my fear control me. I will be there for Naruto-kun in any way I can to make up for the wrongs I did to him."

"Hmph. If you want him so bad, just take him onto your team! I don't want to be grouped with him," Sakura sneered.

"Gladly. I should have been the one to be on his team anyway," Hinata said coldly. "But since that is not the case, I am going to lay down some ground rules, Haruno-san," she continued before Sakura could yell out anything else. "You will not be anywhere near Naruto-kun when he is off duty." Sakura couldn't believe what was happening, was Hinata, the shy timid girl of their class, _threatening_ her? Hinata's next words, coming out in a hiss, only strengthened her disbelief: "And if you ever tell Naruto-kun he is worthless again, I will _end_ you."

"Enough!" Hiruzen shouted over the bickering of the two barely pubescent probationary genin. Sakura would have been better left to her remorse than provoked by Hinata into launching a verbal attack on her injured comrade; and Hinata's anger towards every other conscious person in this room may have been justified, but she was also in need of a severe attitude adjustment. "Sakura, given your overall behavior for this entire day, both _before_ and after you were brought here, your future as a ninja of this village is in jeopardy. I will decide your fate tomorrow."

Sakura clenched her fists and looked down to the floor. "I understand, Hokage-sama," she gritted out, not making eye contact with Hiruzen. The shaking in her voice was not entirely due to the anger Hinata had provoked from her; some of it was still from her prior realization of the role she had played in this incident, and her being horrified by her actions was something Hiruzen only saw as a good thing.

Hiruzen then turned to address the injured Hyūga girl in an even harsher tone than he had used on Sakura. "As for you, Hinata, while I understand your anger, you need to remember that I am the Hokage and I will not tolerate the disrespect you have shown to myself, your instructor, and your comrades. Considering the circumstances, I shall overlook your misconduct this time, but if it happens again there will be unpleasant consequences. Do I make myself clear?"

Hinata's gaze turned coldly on the Hokage, clearly still angry at him, however she bowed her head, deactivated her dōjutsu and answered, "Crystal clear, Hokage-sama," in a voice that still felt every bit as cold as her gaze. Hiruzen knew she only said it because she was forced to, but it was better than nothing.

"Inoichi-san, take the students out of here and scan their minds, and then report to me once you are finished. The Anbu will escort them back to their homes. Kurenai-san and Kakashi-san, I would speak to you outside."

Inoichi nodded. "There is an empty room across the hall. We need to let Hinata and Naruto rest now, so if the four of you would follow me," he instructed the other probationary genin.

As they vacated the hospital room, Hiruzen was the last one to take his leave. He turned his head back one last time and saw Hinata using Naruto's chest as a pillow, her tears once more flowing freely, and he could just make out her soft whispers of apology to the unconscious blond. He sighed as he shut off the light and closed the door. Hinata had shown him two very important things this evening. The first was that her behavior, while he could not condone it, demonstrated a willingness to go against anyone who would try to prevent her from protecting Naruto. That hidden strength was something she would surely need in the days to come. And the second and perhaps the more important, was that from the moment she had been placed next to Naruto, Hinata had gripped the boy's hand tightly and never let go…

* * *

Outside, Hiruzen wasted no time in lighting up his pipe while the two elite jōnin who were assigned to test the students they met in the hospital stood behind him in silence. The Hokage felt their unrest and irritation brought on by this incident and he knew they were not satisfied with the answers they had received in the hospital's basement.

"Which reminds me," Kakashi broke the uncomfortable silence, "Why are Naruto and Hinata in the basement of the hospital?

"They should be in the standard emergency care wing," Kurenai agreed. "In _separate_ rooms. Why are they in the same room?"

Hiruzen exhaled and turned to face the two jōnin. "I should think the answer to that is obvious. As both of you are no doubt aware, there is no shortage of people in this village who would like to finish what Naruto himself started and kill him while he is weakened. Seeing that Naruto was allowed to hurt himself in the first place, I do not know who I can trust with his safety, so it is best that as few people as possible know he was hospitalized. Thus I had him placed in the basement and only informed a handful of medical personnel of his condition. As for why I had Hinata placed in the same room, you saw her reaction when she saw Naruto's condition. If she had awakened in her state of mind and couldn't find Naruto, I have no doubt she would have caused herself further harm trying to find him."

"Are you sure it's a good idea to let that kid be a genin?" Kakashi asked no sooner then when Hiruzen had finished answering the previous question.

"You seem to have the wrong idea, Kakashi-san. Naruto's mind is in a dark place right now. After all he went through to even achieve the status of probationary genin, it would be a terrible idea to send him back to the Academy. With you watching him, I won't have to be as concerned for his safety."

"So my job is to babysit him?"

"You are to _train_ him so he doesn't need to be babysat, Kakashi," Hiruzen replied, slightly annoyed with the Copy Ninja's attempts to weasel out of training Naruto.

"Why not allow Naruto to be put on my team?" Kurenai asked. "Hinata would certainly welcome the transfer. And I would be more than happy to help her watch over Naruto."

Hiruzen shook his head. "Out of the question for a number of reasons. The first being that you have already been assigned a full team, Kurenai-san."

"I can handle four students, Hokage-sama. And if you'll pardon my bluntness, I don't believe Kakashi-san can take care of Naruto."

Kakashi looked offended by Kurenai's implications. "My hesitation to train Naruto has nothing to do with my past. He is my teacher's son, after all. It should be my responsibility to train him when he is ready, but after what happened tonight, I do not believe he is anywhere near ready."

"His readiness is up to me to decide, Kakashi," Hiruzen cut in. "And Kurenai, Kakashi's personal history is not the problem here. I was planning to give Hinata a field promotion that would make her an official genin regardless of the results of your test for Team Eight, and assign her the long-term mission of living with Naruto, effective immediately after they are released from the hospital."

The two jōnin stared at the Hokage for a while before yelling in unison, "WHAT?!"

"It will help give the two time to mend their wounds together, both physical and emotional," the Hokage explained. "They will not be able to participate in team activities for at least a month due to their injuries."

"But why would you have them live together?" Kakashi asked. "Hokage-sama, if it's truly necessary to have someone move in with Naruto, your best bet is Iruka."

Hiruzen took another puff of his pipe before answering, "I will take that into consideration, Kakashi-san. But let me explain why I am choosing Hinata for this mission. Naruto and Hinata are both broken in many of the same ways. Naruto craves acknowledgment from the village while Hinata longs for it from her family. I had hoped they would've become friends long before now, but apparently Hinata has suffered from her clan's verbal abuse for so long that she was never able to build up enough self-confidence to approach Naruto until this afternoon, and when she did, her bodyguard decided to step in and take her away. There is a high likelihood that Naruto will attempt to inflict harm on himself once again if he is left alone and I believe Hinata can prevent that from happening."

"Pardon me for interrupting this discussion, but you're all missing the most important piece of the puzzle," Inoichi said. The others turned their heads to see him walking towards them from the entrance to the stairs, clearly showing fatigue from having used his mental ninjutsu multiple times in succession.

"Finished already, Inoichi-san?" Hiruzen asked.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. It didn't take long to form my conclusions on the students' minds, but I will speak about that later."

"And the students have been sent back to their homes?" was the follow-up question. Inoichi nodded in reply.

"What are we missing, exactly?" Kurenai asked.

Inoichi sighed and rubbed his temples, clearly showing how tired he was after everything he had seen that night. "We are missing the fact that Hinata doesn't want to settle for just being Naruto's friend."

"What are you saying, Inoichi-san? She nearly died to save Naruto!" Kurenai yelled.

"And none of you find that even the least bit odd? There is no shortage of tales about two comrades who are willing to sacrifice themselves for one another, but there is no possible way Hinata and Naruto could have formed that kind of bond yet, having only just been made genin."

"Go on…" Kakashi said.

"I couldn't wrap my mind around what could make that girl do something so rash for a boy she wasn't even friends with. So when I was sure she was asleep, I went back into that room and examined her mind, and found something that complicates things even further."

"Hinata is in love with Naruto," Hiruzen observed.

"Are you sure?" Kurenai asked, and Inoichi nodded.

"She probably doesn't know it herself yet, but it's only a matter of time before she figures it out."

Kurenai turned to Hiruzen after Inoichi finished and asked, "Do you still think it's a good idea to leave the two of them alone together now? Won't this hurt Naruto more?"

"Yes, it could indeed," Hiruzen said. "If Hinata realizes she loves Naruto and tells him too soon, it could shatter him beyond repair. Naruto doesn't know what love is, the poor boy has never had anyone to show him. Hinata's feelings for him could cause him great turmoil once they are revealed simply because he won't know how to respond." When he finished, Hiruzen turned to Inoichi and instructed him to report in the morning about his other findings. Then he turned towards the Academy.

"Wait!" Kurenai yelled. Hiruzen stopped and turned around, and raised a single eyebrow at her.

"Is there something more you wish to say before I retire to my office, Kurenai-san?"

"Why the hell would you make Hinata and Naruto live together knowing it could bring harm to not just one but both of them?!" she demanded.

Hiruzen took one last puff of his pipe and looked upwards to the starry sky before answering, "Because right now, Hinata's love is the only reason Naruto is still alive," and then walking away.

* * *

Hinata couldn't tell how much time had passed after she cried herself to sleep last night…or at least, she hoped it was last night, that the nightmare she'd lived through was over now. The events of that night were forever carved into the recesses of her mind, and not gently either. The memories were like scars; Naruto trying to end his own life, her trying to stop him at the last possible moment, and finally the way he held her close as they fell. Just the thought of it made Hinata want to cry. When faced with his own death, Naruto had put another person's life above his own. Hers, to be more specific.

Using her left arm, she pushed herself up to a sitting position on the bed and realized something was wrong. Her right arm was now in a sling, and her bed had been moved back to its original position, leaving her across the room from Naruto, whose head was turned away from her.

"Naruto-kun…?" Hinata asked slowly.

Naruto didn't turn his head or make any indication that he had heard her. Hinata was about to call to him again when he finally spoke, "I asked them to move you when I woke up, y'know."

Hinata's face was downcast as she replied, "I'm sorry. I made you feel uncomfortable, didn't I?"

"…that wasn't why…" Naruto said slowly.

Hinata's head shot up at his reply. If Naruto had not been uncomfortable with next to him, then… "Why? Did I do something wrong?" she asked, afraid of the prospect Naruto might be angry with her for interfering with his attempted suicide.

"Hinata… I don't know what ideas you got in your head about me, but they're wrong. I'm not who you think I am."

"Naruto-kun, I—" Hinata couldn't find the words to say what needed to be said. She knew there were so many things that she needed to say. That she knew what it was like to feel alone, that she too craved for acknowledgment. But wouldn't it be selfish of her to demand his acknowledgment? But there was also something else, something that was more important than anything, but she couldn't figure out what it was she felt she needed to say.

Before she could form the words to try, Naruto turned his head to face her and Hinata gasped at the sight. "Tell me, Hinata, what do you see?" he asked. Hinata did not want to answer that. It was like one of her nightmares had escaped the confines of her mindscape and manifested in the real world. Naruto's skin, or what little she could see of it, was ghostly pale, as if his body had suddenly become cold blooded. The bandages wrapped around his face, head and neck didn't help as they only made him look even more lifeless. But what was by far the worst part was his eyes. The beautiful blue eyes that had once filled Hinata with hope were cold and devoid of color. She couldn't make out his pupils and wasn't sure if they were even there. Staring into his eyes was like staring into an abyss.

Naruto broke a small, sad smile at her reaction that just made his face more depressing. "I thought you'd react like that. Tell me, Hinata, does this look like the face of someone who can become the Hokage?"

Hinata was fighting back tears as she tried to bring Naruto back from the dark craves his mind was in. "Listen to me, Naruto-kun. I know it's hard for you, especially right now, but I can still help you. Once we are released from the hospital, I'll—"

"What will you do?" Naruto cut her off. He wasn't angry with her; he just didn't believe she could give him a satisfactory answer. "What could you do, Hinata?"

Hinata sniffled a little as she tried to come up with an answer. Even with the little influence she had with her clan, it would never be enough to make the rest of the village stop mistreating Naruto or win him any support. There was only one thing she could do for him. "I… I would be your friend… if you are willing."

Naruto's eyes widened for a moment before narrowing at her offer. "It's too late for that, Hinata."

Hinata's response was an immediate wail. "Why? Why is it too late? Why can't I be your friend? I know…I know I never tried before when I should have, and I don't deserve to be your friend because of that, but I still want to try now!"

Naruto sighed. "That's not it, Hinata. I'd love to be your friend, but I can't. You're wrong again…I'm the one who doesn't deserve it."

"How can you say that?" Hinata asked as her tears started to flow again.

"Look around you, Hinata. You're here in this hospital because of me. You got hurt because of me. Everyone and everything I come close to gets hurt. Don't you get it? I'm broken and I'm tired of living…I have nothing to offer you except misery. That's why I wanted to die, Hinata. What good am I to anyone if I'm broken?" Then he looked to her and gave her a sorrowful smile before adding, "How can I become Hokage when I let someone like you get hurt? How can I become Hokage if I can't even save myself?"

Hinata couldn't respond. What was she supposed to say to Naruto? How could she fix what he claimed was broken? Even if it was possible to fix him, would he ever go back to being the person he was before? It was clear to her now that it wasn't just Naruto's heart and mind that were broken. His very soul had been shattered, its glass fragments ground back into sand. His Will of Fire was completely extinguished. Naruto did not value his own life, so how could he believe that anyone else would value him?

"Naruto-kun, please…" Hinata pleaded, "please let me help you…"

Naruto turned his head away from her and remained silent for a few minutes before answering, "There's nothing left of me to help, Hinata. I appreciate you trying, but it's best if you don't talk to me anymore." And that was the end of the conversation as Naruto pulled the blinds around his bed, cutting off any communication to Hinata as she cried for him to come back to her.

* * *

Back in his office, Hiruzen was facing an entirely different set of problems from the two broken children in the hospital. The man had not slept at all last night and was more than just physically tired. He had already consumed several cups of coffee, but the truth of the matter was, he was too old for this type of work. But there was nothing he could do. Ever since his successor and Naruto's father, the late Namikaze Minato, laid down his life for the village, Hiruzen had been obligated to reclaim the mantle of Hokage. At least until the time was right to step down once more. But each time he thought he found a worthy successor, there were no small number of issues that came up to stop him from passing on The Hat and all the burdens that came with it.

Hiruzen sighed as he sat down, contemplating if it would be prudent for him to go home. A knock on the door answered his question for him, "Enter," he said wearily.

The door opened to reveal Inoichi, arriving ahead of schedule to deliver his report on the mental states of Teams Seven and Eight. Inoichi took one look at Hiruzen and frowned. "I see you didn't get any sleep last night, Hokage-sama."

"How could I?" Hiruzen asked, his voice bitter. "Last night's incident was a serious breach in village security. I loathe to admit that Hinata's anger towards me last night was justified, but she is extending the blame to too many others when it should be placed on my shoulders alone. I should never have had the Anbu stop their surveillance of Naruto after he entered the Academy. I was too careless."

"The fault isn't yours alone, sir. There are many others who should have done more to stop this from happening, myself included. Besides, there are more pressing matters to focus on right now than assigning blame. But before I can begin to address those matters, I have a message to deliver to you from Hiashi-san," Inoichi said, handing the old man a sealed scroll.

"And what were you doing near the Hyūga estate this morning?" Hiruzen asked. Inoichi's response showed no small annoyance with the inferred accusation.

"With all due respect, sir, I am the last person you should be suspicious of considering the pains I'm going through for you at the cost of neglecting my other duties. So I would appreciate some courtesy."

Hiruzen let out another sigh as he took the scroll. "Forgive me, Inoichi-san. This whole situation has been very taxing."

"I understand, sir." Hiruzen nodded and then opened the scroll and read the contents. "If you must know though, I met a messenger from Hiashi-san on my way here. When he told me the message was for you I offered to take it as I was heading this way anyway. I doubt you would want any more than the absolute minimum number of visitors this morning."

Hiruzen listened as he rolled the scroll back up and set it aside. "It appears that Hinata's bodyguard Kō, who was instrumental in Naruto's suicide attempt, has been relieved of his duties. Not only that, Hiashi took it upon himself to brand Kō with the  Kago no Tori no Juin."

Inoichi's eyes widened in horror. "Isn't that punishment excessive, sir?"

Hiruzen stood up and walked around the desk to face Inoichi clearly in the eyes. "Actually, Hiashi-san was being merciful."

"How is using a juinjutsu on one of his own clansmen a mercy?"

"Inoichi-san, need I remind you of the law I put in place after Naruto's birth?" Inoichi froze up as the truth of the situation started to dawn on him. "Speaking of the burden Naruto carries without my express permission is not the only capital offense defined by that law. Any action, be it directly or indirectly, that would bring harm to Uzumaki Naruto is punishable by death. So when I say Hiashi-san showed mercy by branding Kō with the cursed seal, I mean he saved Kō from what I would have, and still feel I should do," Hiruzen said in a deadly serious tone.

Inoichi did not frighten easily, but Hiruzen was not someone whose bad side he wanted to get on. There was a reason why he was still the Hokage long after the death of his successor. "I understand, sir."

"On a side note, I expect Hiashi-san would be equal parts horrified and impressed by his daughter's behavior last night once he is informed. There are very few in this village who are brave enough to tell off their Hokage." Inoichi wisely refrained from making any comment. Seeing his silence, Hiruzen nodded and leaned against his chair. "Well, then. Let's hear what you came here for. I would like to at least attempt to get some rest before the next crisis arrives at this office."

Inoichi nodded and folded his arms in front of him. "Two of the six probationary genin were normal, Hokage-sama. I could not find any problems with Kiba or Shino. I cannot say the same for any of the others, however. I suppose I should start with Hinata, since she seemed to be the least damaged of the four.

"As you probably know, Hyūga Hinata is a victim of abuse and neglect, though I could not find a single memory which would indicate that she was ever physically abused. The verbal abuse she received from her clan started roughly three years ago, after she lost a spar against her younger sister to determine whether or not she would keep her title as the heiress to the clan. However, while Hinata has, to the best of my knowledge never been struck outside of a spar, there was one sparring session against her cousin Neji that took place before she was stripped of the heiress position during which he tried to kill her. Knowing all of this, it is little wonder she has such low self-esteem. Hinata feels like she is every bit the failure the rest of the Hyūga Clan see her as."

"I am already aware of most of this, Inoichi-san. It is exactly why I had planned to issue Hinata a field promotion and assign her to live with Naruto, in order to get her out of the Hyūga estate and allow her time to heal her own wounds even as she would help Naruto heal his. Now continue your report."

"Very well, sir. All three of the probationary genin assigned to this year's Team Seven have severe issues. Naruto's, you have already seen some of, but not all. I believe we all underestimated just how deeply he was affected by the neglect he suffered ever since he was released from the care of the village elders and Anbu. Every night, Naruto suffered in silence, knowing no one would help him, but still hoping that someone would come along anyway to take him in and end his all-consuming loneliness. Naruto often asked himself in the solitude of his bed why he doesn't have a mother and father like most children. So when Sakura suggested to him yesterday that his parents chose to abandon him…"

"She inadvertently found his breaking point and struck it with maximum force," Hiruzen observed. "After what we witnessed last night, I cannot disagree with that assessment. But what state, exactly, was Naruto's mind in when you examined it?"

Inoichi folded his arms and lowered his head, trying to decide how best to word his answer. "I do not feel that I can provide an adequate description for what I felt and witnessed in there, sir. Naruto's mindscape was visibly damaged by the events that transpired yesterday afternoon. He was trying to repress as many of his negative emotions as possible, but after the incidents with Kō and Sakura, those emotions started flooding his mind. After being subjected to some of those emotions, it was of little wonder to me that Naruto arrived at the worst possible scenario in such a short amount of time."

The Hokage grimaced at Inoichi's very inadequate and disturbing report. "Will Naruto recover?" he asked, unable to suppress the slight quivering in his voice.

"At this moment in time, I cannot provide a definitive answer to that question. Naruto has lost the desire for acknowledgment. He only wishes to be left alone to his misery."

"That will not be allowed." Hiruzen's tone was resolute. "In addition to assigning Hinata to live with Naruto as her first official mission, I will be reactivating the Anbu surveillance on Naruto effective immediately, to ensure there are no further attempts made on his life, by himself or anyone else. I am also looking into assigning more caretakers to Naruto." The Hokage paused momentarily and saw Inoichi frowning, observing that the Yamanaka clan head did not feel they were doing enough to resolve this situation. "What else do you have to say on Naruto's condition, Inoichi-san? We cannot afford any more mishaps."

Inoichi gulped. "There are two other things that disturbed me when I examined Naruto's mind. The first, of course, being the Kyūbi—"

 _"You saw the Kyūbi?"_ Hiruzen interrupted, nearly screaming his question.

"I didn't just see the monster fox, Hokage-sama; it interrogated me, and vice versa. The interaction I had with it is deeply disturbing. The Kyūbi claimed to know the secrets of the  Hakke no Fūin  that keeps it imprisoned inside Naruto, and worse, it claimed that because of Naruto's incident last night, the seal has weakened."

"Did it play any part in Naruto's suicide attempt?"

Inoichi shook his head. "The fox claimed to be innocent of that incident. Given what we know, I'm inclined to believe it spoke the truth this time."

"In that case, I have no choice but to contact Jiraiya and recall him to Konoha so he can examine the seal and determine the full extent of the damage. But you mentioned there was one other thing that bothered you?"

Inoichi nodded. "When I found Naruto, there were several dark silhouettes surrounding him. But after he begged me to kill him, another silhouette appeared, one of pure light, and its behavior was different. The other silhouettes were manifestations of villagers who have mistreated Naruto, but this one seemed to want to protect him. Due to the absence of friends in Naruto's life, this bright silhouette must be a recent construct. I doubt Naruto is aware of what it represents."

Hiruzen groaned. "The plot continues to thicken. If what you saw was just a reflection of Naruto's memories, then there is little that I can personally do for him. You will need to begin regular therapy sessions with Naruto as soon as possible to monitor the situation."

"It will be done."

"Excellent. Now what of his teammates?"

"Right. As I said earlier, all three probationary genin who were assigned to Team Seven have severe issues. Naruto's are among the worst I have ever seen, but even after what I saw in his mind, I was still troubled by what I found when I examined Sakura."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "Go on…"

"Haruno Sakura developed a habit of projecting certain emotions inward rather than outward, which has over time caused her mind to construct a second personality. While this 'Inner Sakura' does not appear to be able to control Sakura directly, I feel it holds a strong enough influence over her to impair her judgment. Knowing this, I cannot in good conscience condone allowing her to still become a ninja."

"Hold on a moment, Inoichi-san. Let's not jump to conclusions just yet. While what you have just told me is an additional cause for concern, I would hear the rest of your findings before making any further judgments," Hiruzen bid him.

Inoichi's face turned dark as the Hokage finished speaking, as though he was burdened by a terrible secret. "As troubling as it was when I discovered Sakura's split personality, I'm afraid that what was in Sasuke's mind could be even worse than what I found in Naruto's." He shuddered before continuing, "Hokage-sama, there is something wrong with that boy. His mind is singularly focused on thoughts of revenge."

"In what aspect is that different than what you saw inside Naruto's mind?" Hiruzen asked.

"Naruto's mind was consumed by despair. Devoid of hope and life. Despite everything that has been done to him, Naruto only feels sadness, and it's almost as if he is incapable of hating those who have rightly earned his hatred. And while that is horrific in and of itself, it is fundamentally different than what I saw in Sasuke," Inoichi explained. "Both Naruto and Sasuke blame themselves for what happened to break them, however the key difference is that Sasuke also extends the blame for the massacre of the Uchiha Clan to us. His upbringing coupled with the trauma instilled and reinforced in him a strong inferiority complex. He simply believes he is not good enough. But since that night, Sasuke has also come to believe this village failed him and allowed his clan to be wiped out. He believes our shinobi have grown complacent. And worse than his lost faith in us is the burning hatred he has held for his brother ever since he saw him kill their mother and father with his own eyes. The Last Loyal Uchiha's only loyalty is to his dead clan, and he will stop at nothing to avenge them."

When Inoichi finished explaining, Hiruzen remained silent, thinking and contemplating how he should react. The words of Itachi Uchiha echoed in his mind as he went back to that terrible night four and a half years ago: _You must promise me that no matter what, you will protect Sasuke from Danzō, the elders, and anyone else who would use him for their own sinister ends._ "When one makes the mistake of thinking things cannot become any more complicated, something like this happens," he muttered. But Hiruzen would fulfill his promise to Itachi to protect Sasuke, even if that meant extending it to protect Sasuke from himself. He sighed again and walked back behind his desk to sit down. Then he reached into the bottom drawer on his desk for the documents he had hoped he would never use.

Inoichi saw what Hiruzen was doing, quickly realized his intentions, and decided to inquire about them. "Hokage-sama, are you sure that's a wise decision? The news about Sasuke is cause for concern, but…"

"I will inform Kakashi-san of these changes myself. Truth be told, it's better this way. Naruto will need all the help he can get if he is to find his will to live again. Hopefully this will help him, and I hope it will also help Sasuke and Sakura come to realize their own shortcomings." Hiruzen signed the documents and handed them to Inoichi. "I'm sorry to ask this of you, my friend, but could you deliver these for me? I must go and speak with Kakashi-san."

Inoichi nodded. "Of course, sir, but what about you?" he asked, referring to the bags under the Hokage's eyes.

Hiruzen chuckled. "I guess I'll need more caffeine in my system. But it is not the first time this job has caused me to suffer from sleep deprivation," he said as he walked out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay...so some things to note (carried over from the FF post):
> 
> \- Yes, we're aware Hinata's behavior is OOC, but given what happened to cause said OOC behavior from her...
> 
> \- Other behavioral anomalies (Kakashi, etc.) will be addressed soon.
> 
> \- Don't expect Jiraiya to show up anytime soon. He's supposed to be on a long-term deep cover mission away from the village right now, so getting the recall message from Hiruzen and acting on it will take time.


	4. Dismissals and Assurances

For once, Kakashi Hatake was not distracting himself with an _Icha Icha_  novel as he leaned against the railing on the small balcony leading to Naruto Uzumaki's bedroom. The silver-haired ninja may have appeared composed to most ordinary passersby if they could see his face from their vantage point, but Kakashi was anything but as his mind sunk deeply into his depressing thoughts about last night's events.

Kakashi had been aware for some time that Naruto would eventually be assigned to a genin team that would be placed under his command. At first, he tried not to think too much on the matter. Kakashi did have a legitimate obligation to train the boy, as Naruto was the son of his late sensei. It would have been easier if obligation was all Kakashi felt, or if Naruto's enthusiasm could have lessened the burden in some way. Naruto was a lot like Kakashi's deceased friend and teammate, Obito Uchiha, in a lot of regards. Those reminders alone were painful enough for the Copy Ninja...

But the truth of the matter was that though they had not called him out for it, Kakashi had lied to Kurenai and Hiruzen last night when he claimed his past wasn't responsible for influencing his hesitation to accept the responsibility of training Naruto. Kakashi was afraid that if he did train Naruto, he would get the boy killed. The fear was exacerbated by the fact Naruto almost died anyway regardless of Kakashi's absence from his life. Kakashi had already lost everyone else from his childhood. His father, Sakumo, committed _seppuku_  after he was disgraced for his decision to rescue his comrades over completing an important mission. The deaths of his teammates, his sensei and his sensei's wife, all happening in relatively rapid succession, had an even worse impact on him. Obito had died doing the same thing that drove Sakumo to suicide, choosing to abandon the mission for the sake of a friend. Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki gave their lives to protect Konoha after the _Kyūbi no Yōko_ was released, and were forced to condemn the newborn Naruto to carry the burden Kushina had carried before giving birth. And Rin…Kakashi _still_  had nightmares and flashbacks from when Rin Nohara killed herself by stepping into the path of a  Raikiri that had been meant to kill the enemy Kiri-nin who ambushed them during his attempt to rescue her. Everyone who got close to Kakashi died, their deaths usually caused by their own actions. And to know that Naruto, his sensei's only child and living legacy, had attempted to end his own life too…

"It does not do you well to dwell on the past at this time, Kakashi-san," a voice interrupted his thoughts. Kakashi looked up to see Hiruzen on the opposite side of the balcony.

"Hokage-sama," Kakashi answered the call to attention from the Hokage. "I didn't expect you to arrive so soon after you told me to wait here."

"Well, as you can see, last night was both eventful and sleepless," Hiruzen said in an apologetic manner. "But before we enter, should I explain why I called you here now?"

"After last night, sir, I don't think an explanation is necessary."

Hiruzen paused only long enough to unlock the back door using the master key he always kept with him. "This discussion we are about to have on Naruto and his teammates was originally supposed to happen yesterday. So many things that weren't supposed to happen, happened in its stead. Naruto's situation has taken a drastic turn for the worse and it is only now that I am realizing what should have been done to prevent it."

Kakashi nodded as he followed Hiruzen inside Naruto's apartment, and almost gagged as he found himself bombarded with a very unpleasant combination of odors. "Does Naruto even know what air fresheners are or how to use them?" he complained.

"Try not to let the smell get to you, Kakashi. It is unlikely Naruto would have willingly tried to purchase such products, given the poor experiences he has had during most of his shopping trips."

"And you allowed it to happen?"

Hiruzen sighed deeply while giving Kakashi a brief, but harsh warning glare. "In hindsight, I know I should have done more. But the situation is still complicated. The first few times Naruto tried to go shopping on his own, he was met with discrimination from the shopkeepers and merchants. They were all either killed or banished from the Land of Fire for their offenses against Naruto, but it was already too late to undo the damage they caused. Naruto decided that his best response to those incidents was to get revenge by vandalizing their stores. By doing so, he gave most of the other shopkeepers and merchants a legitimate excuse to deny him service. Was I supposed to have them killed or banished too, knowing the negative consequences such actions would have for the entire village? That is the problem I still face, Kakashi-san. Even as the Hokage, I am limited in how much influence I can exert. Actually, my position as the acting Hokage may well have placed greater limitations on me than I would have had if I had found another worthy successor."

Kakashi withheld his reply until he completed a quick inspection of the kitchen/dining area, which ended with removing a carton of milk from the fridge and setting it on the counter. "Would that explain why Naruto is drinking expired milk?"

"No store in this village is allowed to sell perishable food past its expiration date. If the shopkeeper from whom Naruto purchased the milk broke that law, he will be punished. That being said, something the medical report on Naruto mentioned was that he had not consumed any food or beverages yesterday. Naruto skipped breakfast before heading to the Academy." Kakashi could not think of an answer to that. The implications of that particular piece of information were just too much.

"But now is not the time to discuss Naruto's dietary habits," Hiruzen dismissed the subject. "We are here to figure out how to give Naruto a reason to keep living."

"And how do you propose we do that?" Kakashi asked.

"There is a plan for his psychological recovery being put into place. Naruto will be attending therapy sessions with Inoichi-san at least once every week while he is in the village, but that alone will not be enough. Naruto needs to be given a surrogate family. You will be part of that family, Kakashi-san."

Kakashi lowered his head and shut his visible eye. "Hokage-sama, I'm not sure if I'm the best person for the job. I understand why I'm being called upon, but—"

"You're still afraid of getting Naruto killed if you let yourself get close, but at the same time, you're asking yourself if things would have gone better for him if you had gotten close," Hiruzen observed. "But back then, you were mentally unfit to raise Naruto after experiencing so many traumatic events in such a short time. As I said earlier, Kakashi, it does not do you well to dwell on the past. What matters is what you can do in the here and now. And right now, Naruto needs you to overcome your fear and be there for him."

Keeping his visible eye shut, Kakashi crossed his right arm over his chest and gripped his left arm. "I will do everything I can for Naruto. But it's not going to be easy, sir, and I'm not talking about my fear right now. There's still one other genin on Team Seven who may require a similar kind of focus that you're asking me to give to Naruto."

"That's already been taken care of. You don't need to worry about your focus being split between students. I have decided to eliminate both Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura from the training program. At this time, it is unlikely that either of them will be allowed to join the shinobi corps."

Kakashi reflexively lifted up his _hitai-ate_ as his eyes snapped open. It was not done as a threatening gesture, but to display how much shock he was in after hearing the Hokage's decision to fail this year's Team Seven before they were even tested. "Sasuke and Sakura were among the top of their class. Sasuke had the highest grades in all practical exams, and while Sakura suffered greatly in her physical tests, her written grades surpassed all of her peers. Both of them would have been invaluable assets to Konoha once they were set straight. What did Inoichi-san learn about them that led you to this decision, sir?"

"Only part of Inoichi's evaluation uncovered new information; the rest of it was a confirmation of prior suspicions and another wake-up call to tell us what we should have done sooner. Both Sasuke and Sakura have mental issues of their own that impair their ability to function as competent and loyal ninja of our village. There is not a single shinobi in Konoha who doesn't know that Sasuke was left traumatized by witnessing the murders of nearly everyone else in the Uchiha Clan. Our response was woefully inadequate, and it pains me to admit that my failures regarding Sasuke started by looking at his situation from a political perspective. As for Sakura, Inoichi-san discovered the existence of a split personality that has the potential to cloud her judgment. For the time being, it is best that they are placed on strict probation and made to undergo therapy."

Kakashi shut his eyes again and lowered his _hitai-ate_ back to its regular position. "Forgive me for pointing this out, but the fallout from banning Sasuke from service will be huge, sir. Once spies from other villages learn of your decision, their Kage will assume you are planning to turn Sasuke into a breeding slave, and they will attempt to have him kidnapped."

"And the ramifications of the Last Loyal Uchiha going rogue or getting himself killed because of his desire for vengeance will be even worse," Hiruzen stated the other obvious fact. "Sasuke is currently unfit to be a shinobi. Until his mental state makes an adequate improvement, I will not reconsider this decision."

"And what about Naruto? After what happened last night, there is no way he can possibly be ready to wear the _hitai-ate_ ," Kakashi argued. "By all rights, Naruto should have been held back another year due to his poor grades, and would have been held back had he not used the  Kage Bunshin no Jutsu during the graduation exam. Besides, each new ninja team formed out of the Academy needs three compatible genin, and the only other students in that class who could possibly be compatible with Naruto were already assigned to different teams."

Hiruzen growled at Kakashi's apparent refusal to look at the bigger picture. He reached under his robes for his pipe, only to discover that he had run out of tobacco and did not hide his annoyance as he put it back. "Naruto will _not_ be sent back to the Academy or assigned to another team, Kakashi. You will be taking him on as an apprentice. We _cannot_ afford to let him slip away. Naruto worked far too hard just to make it as far as he had before all of this happened and it will be up to you to make him believe that those years of effort were not wasted. Give Naruto a purpose in life, just as his father did for you."

Kakashi nodded once before he moved to leave the apartment the way they came in. "And if we should fail to mend Naruto's broken soul?"

"We won't," was Hiruzen's resolute reply as he walked outside and used a Shunshin no Jutsu to return to his office.

Before Kakashi made his own exit, he took one last look inside Naruto's bedroom. Kakashi himself had endured so much loneliness in his life and had accepted many years ago that he would have to endure much more before death claimed him, but the feeling he got from being inside Naruto's small apartment was worse than what he normally felt. That feeling told Kakashi that this apartment had never truly felt like a home for Naruto. And that was the first thing that would have to be fixed in order for Naruto to make a successful recovery.

* * *

As the head of the Yamanaka Clan and an important cog in the machine that was Konoha's Intelligence Division, Inoichi was often assigned many of the more unpleasant tasks that could be given to a shinobi. In most of those instances, calling the task unpleasant was an understatement.

Being the one to deliver the news to Sasuke Uchiha that he had been banned from becoming a shinobi was no different. There was no way Sasuke would take this news well, and though there was nothing he could do to actually harm Inoichi should he lash out, Inoichi knew it would be prudent to speak with a certain amount of caution. In his current mindset, it would be all too easy for Sasuke to blame the wrong people for his own faults.

Inoichi did not have the time to dwell on the matter, though. He quickly arrived at his destination, a small apartment that was located close to the Uchiha district, but was not inside the district itself. It was common knowledge that Sasuke had stopped living inside his clan's former district after the night the clan was slaughtered, and only returned there occasionally. No one in their right mind (Sasuke clearly wasn't, but still) would have willingly stayed in their old home after it became the site of one of the worst bloodbaths in recent history.

He took a deep breath before knocking on the door. When it opened, it was clear that Sasuke had been about to leave his apartment for one of Konoha's many training grounds, which meant this meeting had already taken a turn for the worse before it even started.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked, his voice full of contempt. Inoichi didn't bother with trying to reprimand him for his disrespect and just handed him the first of two envelopes he was instructed by the Hokage to deliver. Sasuke stayed put long enough to open it and his anger spiked once he saw the pink color of the enclosed document. "What the hell is this?"

"Sasuke, I understand this is difficult to hear, but—"

"Difficult?! This is bullshit!" Sasuke shouted. "What the hell did I do to deserve this? I was at the top of my class!"

"One's performance at the Academy, by itself is not an accurate indicator of readiness to become a shinobi," Inoichi explained, taking a stern tone with the Last Loyal Uchiha. "There are other factors involved in determining one's readiness. In case you forgot, your jōnin instructor Hatake Kakashi-san would have been within his rights to fail you had he tested you and your teammates and found any one of the three of you lacking something essential. That was, of course, assuming that Hokage-sama had not decided to disqualify you as a ninja on the grounds of mental instability."

Sasuke was already glowering to the point that his face would have been a beacon of red light in the darkest caves, but Inoichi had only started dressing him down. "During the four and a half years that have passed since that day, you have allowed yourself to become consumed with thoughts of revenge. You cannot see past your anger and therefore cannot understand what it means to be a shinobi. Being a shinobi is not about the pursuit of power or killing those who deserve to die. Until you realize that truth, you cannot expect us to allow you to continue walking the path you paved for yourself."

"You're a hypocrite if you think you can tell me what a shinobi is!" Sasuke screamed at Inoichi. "Both you and that pathetic Hokage allowed hundreds of people to die who didn't deserve it!"

Inoichi clenched and unclenched his fists, restraining himself from physically disciplining Sasuke. As much as he sympathized with Sasuke for the tragedy that befell him, and as much as he was to blame for the failure to help Sasuke recover, the disrespect Sasuke showed towards those with higher social standing could not be tolerated. "For that alone, I should have you taken to Torture and Interrogation to have your chakra permanently sealed. Hokage-sama had intended for your ban to be temporary, but after what you just said—"

"Shut the hell up!" Sasuke interrupted Inoichi a second time with his screaming. "You know nothing about what you put me through since that night!"

"I'm a mind-walker, Sasuke," Inoichi reminded Sasuke. "And when I went inside your mind last night, I heard what Itachi told you to do. If you follow his words and let yourself continue as you are, there is a very strong possibility you will become just like him. What good does it do to destroy something you hate when by doing so, you become the very thing you set out to destroy?"

Inoichi allowed himself a heavy sigh as the raven-haired boy grew silent, crossing his arms and turning his face away as he appeared to be contemplating the question. It was the first sign of rational thought he had seen from Sasuke in this meeting. Perhaps it also meant that Sasuke wasn't too far gone, as Inoichi suspected/feared.

"As I said a minute ago, Hokage-sama intended for this to only be temporary," Inoichi continued. "It is possible for the ban to be rescinded."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked, only reluctantly choosing to look Inoichi in the eye.

"As one of the conditions of your probation, Hokage-sama is ordering you to attend therapy sessions on a regular basis. These sessions will be conducted by either myself, or if I am not available, another Yamanaka who is sufficiently qualified. If you comply with this order and learn both a proper respect for your superiors and how not to let your desire for revenge control you, the ban will be rescinded and you will be accepted back into the shinobi program. But only when you can prove to us beyond a reasonable doubt that you have made these changes in yourself."

Sasuke, arms still crossed, turned his back to Inoichi. He clearly wasn't happy about the dismissal, but realizing that he was being offered another chance made him stop and think, but only briefly. "Fine," he muttered. "I'll go through with the therapy, but only because you're not giving me any other choice."

Inoichi frowned. Sasuke was taking this exactly like he expected him to, showing why the actions being taken to make him get better were fully warranted. "Very good," he said. "I have more work to attend to now, but you'll receive another written notice soon informing you when our first session will take place." He gave Sasuke a small nod and turned to leave the apartment, but Sasuke stopped him with one last question:

"How much of this has to do with Naruto?"

Inoichi sighed as he turned back around to address Sasuke's final question for him. "Right now, you may think we should just let Naruto die. But I strongly suggest taking a long time to reflect on what happened last night. Earlier, I said that there was a strong chance you would be so consumed by revenge that you would become just like your brother. If that doesn't happen, I can promise you this. If you follow your current path and succeed in killing Itachi without becoming Itachi, you will be left just as empty inside as Naruto is now. You will have lost your purpose in life just as Naruto believes he has lost his, and you will seek to take your own life just as Naruto tried to take his."

Sasuke could only stare blankly at the front door as Inoichi took his leave. For the first time in a long time, he was left with more questions than answers.

* * *

Inoichi sighed deeply as he walked from Sasuke's apartment to a nearby complex where the Haruno family lived. Unlike with Sasuke, Inoichi was uncertain of how Sakura would react to her letter of dismissal, and that was accounting for what he knew of her prior to last night.

Inoichi's daughter, Ino, had fostered a strong friendship with Sakura during the Academy, but over the past year the friendship fell apart and turned into a bitter rivalry because both Ino and Sakura (and every other female student in their class except for Hinata) had become infatuated with Sasuke almost to the point of obsession. Luckily, it wasn't severe enough to make Ino unwilling to work with her teammates and family allies, Shikamaru and Chōji, though she likely would have caused problems had she been assigned to any team that wasn't a continuation of the Ino-Shika-Chō tradition. He hoped that Ino would get over Sasuke on her own, and soon.

As he knocked on the front door of the Haruno residence and waited for someone to answer, Inoichi wondered about Sakura's motivations to become a ninja. Sakura had developed a friendship with Sasuke prior to the Uchiha Massacre, that fell apart when Sasuke started distancing himself from everyone else. Over the past year, Sakura's feelings toward the Last Loyal Uchiha had turned into an infatuation so consuming, that her former friend turned object of lust became her entire reason for wanting to serve Konoha as a kunoichi. That was something Inoichi would have to make Sakura realize needed to stop, but Sakura would be on her own in breaking her obsession. Even with her split personality complicating matters, Sakura was more than capable of doing an introspection to realize her own shortcomings without having anyone else there to help her. Inoichi couldn't afford to spend any time on therapy sessions with her, not when Naruto and Sasuke were already enough of a challenge.

The door opened to reveal Sakura, who looked at him with surprise for two seconds before greeting him: "Inoichi-san, what brings you here today?"

"Hello, Sakura. Are your parents here?" Inoichi asked.

Sakura shook her head. "They both left to run some errands. Is there something I can help you with?"

Inoichi sighed again, remembering how Sakura's parents tended to bicker and how they had initially objected to Sakura joining the Academy. "It's probably for the best that Kizashi-san and Mebuki-san are not here for this conversation," he said as he walked inside, left his sandals at the door, and handed Sakura the second unlabeled envelope Hiruzen gave him to deliver.

It was with caution that Sakura opened the envelope, due to how ominous Inoichi's voice sounded to her. The moment she saw the pink color of the document, her eyes widened in horror; she didn't have to read it to know what it was.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Sakura, have you ever heard any other voices inside your mind?" was Inoichi's reply.

"Sometimes…but what does that have to do with this?"

"When I scanned your mind last night, Sakura, I discovered that you have a second personality. It appears to have developed because of your tendency to keep certain thoughts and emotions to yourself rather than allow them to be displayed to others. Hokage-sama and I believe this personality, this 'Inner Sakura' as we're currently calling it, has the ability to negatively affect your decision-making processes and can be considered a hindrance to both yourself and your teammates while out on missions. Therefore, Hokage-sama has decided that until you learn how to properly handle these repressed thoughts and emotions, you will not be allowed to become a ninja."

"WHAT?!" Sakura screeched. "I know how to make decisions just fine!"

"Both the Hokage and myself have every reason to doubt that after everything that has happened during the past twenty-four hours," Inoichi insisted. "If you were to tell Hinata what you just told me, I do not believe she would let you walk away from that conversation. And before you try to deny it, let me remind you of something else. As a genin, even if only a probationary genin, you should have realized that something was wrong when you thought Sasuke was speaking to you yesterday. Only a civilian would be consistently fooled by the Henge no Jutsu; a trained ninja would see through the deception. But you were blinded by your infatuation with Sasuke and refused to consider the possibility that you were not actually speaking to him. Your actions yesterday showed a blatant disregard for the Shinobi Rules that nearly cost the lives of two of your comrades. Surely you can understand why your conduct is not permissible and has caused you to be rejected from service?"

Sakura stood there in stunned silence for almost thirty seconds before she could answer that. The rational part of her knew Inoichi was right and she had royally screwed up, but Inner Sakura was receiving all of the rage she felt over being discharged before she even had a chance to prove herself. "I can change! I didn't mean to make Naruto feel like that!" she protested.

"Then why did you even say those words in the first place? You don't understand what Naruto is going through right now, Sakura. Naruto has lost the will to live because of what you told him. He won't open himself up to anyone, even the few people who genuinely wish to help him. The physical danger to his life may have passed for now, but if he is going to recover, then the people around him need to address their own shortcomings so they can be in a position to help him. Myself included, if that makes you feel better."

It didn't. Sakura hung her head low as she asked in a defeatist tone, "Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Figure that out yourself," Inoichi instructed her. "You're more than capable of doing so. Once you do, I'm sure you'll be able to get reinstated." He was about to turn and leave when it occurred to him that there was something else he needed to tell her, something he probably wasn't supposed to say. "Listen, Sakura. I don't have any time in my schedule right now to give you therapy sessions and it's doubtful that I'll be available to give you any sessions in the near future. I will see if there is someone else who can perform these sessions with you, but given the circumstances, it could still take at least a few months before a therapist becomes available." Which was basically telling Sakura that she was being denied help as punishment for her actions. "It isn't right, but that's just how it is," he added to soften the blow. Sakura gave him a nod, though he knew that Inner Sakura had to be seething right now. He tried a second time to leave, but this time Sakura stopped him.

"Wait!"

Inoichi raised an eyebrow at Sakura. "Is there something else you needed to know or have clarified?"

Sakura clenched the pink sheet in her hand as she said, "The notice only said that Sasuke-kun and I were being dropped from the shinobi program. But all genin are assigned to teams in threes. What's going to happen to Naruto?"

"I'm not supposed to tell you this, but the Hokage is ordering Kakashi-san to take on Naruto as an apprentice," Inoichi replied. "Hokage-sama believes that sending Naruto back to the Academy or banning him from service altogether will make it less likely for him to want to continue living. Only time will tell if the decision to keep Naruto in the program does him any good."

"Oh…I see…" Sakura said quietly. For a moment, she looked like she wanted to say something else, but decided against it and turned away. "Have a good afternoon, Inoichi-san."

As she turned away, Inoichi noticed a tear fall from her eye. He walked away from the door and placed a firm hand on Sakura's shoulder, giving her a stern look from her side. "Right now, I can't tell whether you are feeling sorry for yourself or if you truly regret your actions yesterday. But if you do feel remorse, then you need to wait for Naruto and Hinata to decide they are ready to see you again before you try to apologize. You have caused the two of them a tremendous amount of grief and it is of little wonder that Hinata snapped at everyone in the hospital and issued threats against you." Inoichi let go of Sakura's shoulder and walked back towards the door. "That's just one of the many things you'll have to think about if you still wish to become a ninja."

Sakura just stood there, keeping her back turned on Inoichi as he left the house. The only sound that was made was from the crumpling of the notice in her hand as she clenched her fist tighter. From the corner of her eye, that notice appeared to be staring at her, almost taunting her.

At least that was how the manifestation of her repressed feelings saw it, before deciding to comment.

**_"Good riddance!"_ ** Inner Sakura yelled. **_"This is all Naruto's fault! At least now he won't be around to bother us anymore! Shānnarō!"_ **

"Shut up," Sakura warned the construct. "It's because of you rearing your ugly forehead that we're in the mess!"

**_"But you and I are the same person,"_ ** 'Inner' pointed out. **_"So don't try to absolve yourself by pinning the blame on me."_ **

"I said SHUT THE HELL UP!" Sakura screamed, ripping the notice in two. The voice fell silent, and Sakura was breathing heavily before she felt a tear land on her lower lip. She was finally starting to feel the impact of the blow she had dealt to herself and it brought her to her knees.

She knew she should have been nicer to Naruto. But all she had thought about when she thought of him was how he had constantly tried to treat her as someone who could be won like a prize at a festival. She had grown to hate Naruto for it. And she had let that hate run free for just a few minutes and it was enough to break him. Yesterday, she would have been glad that Naruto would be out of her life. But now all she could feel was the overwhelming guilt from knowing that she had driven Naruto to do something she would never have wished on him.

All of this was her own damn fault. And it was too late for her to make any attempt to fix things.

"What have I done?" she whispered incessantly.

* * *

While Inoichi was out dealing with Naruto's would-have-been teammates, Naruto was giving the wall to his right a blank stare. Being confined to his bed in the basement level of the hospital left him without much else he could do to pass the time. It was why he hated hospitals: every minute he spent in one was a minute he felt like they were trying to kill him through sheer boredom.

Naruto turned to his left and reached towards the blinds, pulling them open slightly to peek at Hinata. To his relief, she had cried herself back to sleep after the last time she tried talking to him, so he allowed himself to pull the blinds open as far as he could. He quickly wished he hadn't as he looked over her in the bed and felt sick to his stomach. He only now noticed that the nurses had reattached the wires to the ceiling which kept her broken leg suspended above the bed and that her left hand, which was on the cast over her right arm, was wrapped in bandages that were stained red from her own blood. Hinata was badly injured because of his failures and that made him feel worse than anything.

He then looked down at his own injuries and that only aggravated what he felt about Hinata's suffering. Most of his lesser wounds had already healed and though his head, chest and legs would take longer to be repaired, he felt no pain whatsoever from them, and he was sure he hadn't been given any medicine for the pain while he slept. That was how it had always been for Naruto. It was rare for him to incur more serious injuries with his reckless behavior, and any minor injuries he suffered from a training mishap always healed by the next day. Naruto was normally okay with this because it kept him out of having to stay at the hospital for extended periods of time. But right now, he could not describe just how horrible he felt, knowing that he would recover from this quickly while Hinata, the girl who risked her life for him, would be suffering for far longer because of his actions.

Slowly, he reached his arm out to pull the blinds shut again, unable to bear looking at Hinata any longer. He just wanted to be left alone so he could die. But she was too stubborn to listen and had nearly killed herself trying to save him.

But before he could grab the blinds, the door to his room opened, revealing a middle-aged blond shinobi wearing a red _haori_ over a standard black uniform. Naruto had trouble recognizing this man, even though he looked strangely familiar. The man's entrance also aroused Hinata from her slumber, making her moan in pain as she tried to sit up.

"My apologies for disturbing you, Hinata," the older man addressed the injured Hyūga.

Hinata shook her head and winced from another burst of pain. "It is alright, Inoichi-san. But may I ask what brings you here?"

The now-identified Inoichi sighed as he closed the door behind him. "I wish my visit here was under more pleasant circumstances," he said before moving one of the chairs for visitors between Hinata and Naruto's beds.

"Um…shouldn't you call—"

"No, Hinata," Inoichi answered her question before she could finish asking. "It is best that you remain in here for this therapy session." He then turned to face Naruto and said, "We haven't been properly introduced yet, Naruto. I am Inoichi of the Yamanaka Clan and I am here to talk to you about your…accident last night. Do you remember anything strange happening after you fell?"

Naruto knew right away from the delicate tone Inoichi used that something was being hidden from him, and he didn't like it. "Remember what, exactly?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at the Yamanaka clan head.

Inoichi rubbed his temples to stave off the headache that he knew Naruto was going to give him after he said his next words. "While you were unconscious, I used a special ninjutsu that was developed by my clan for the purpose of entering another person's mind."

Naruto shot up so fast that were it not for the casts on his legs, he would have launched himself out of his bed. "What the hell gives you the right to go messing with my head?!" he shouted.

"You had just tried to kill yourself and the Hokage needed to know why," Inoichi said sternly. "Right now, you cannot be trusted to be left alone or to willingly tell us what we need to know, so entering your mind directly was the only option. If you want to earn back the trust you lost, you had better start by answering my questions, and answering them truthfully."

"Inoichi-san, you are being too harsh on Naruto-kun," Hinata attempted to chastise Inoichi.

"Can you trust Naruto right now?" Inoichi asked her in reply. Hinata found herself unable to provide him with an answer. "That's what I thought," he added after waiting fifteen seconds for the answer that did not come. "As for you, Naruto, you are going to start making an effort to let others help you. This is a direct order from the Hokage. Noncompliance is not an option."

If there were any objects in reach that he could throw at Inoichi besides his pillow, Naruto would have thrown them. Being deprived of that option for venting his anger, he settled for crossing his arms, closing his eyes and looking away. "I don't need your help," he spat.

"Yes you do. You just won't admit it." But Naruto kept himself closed off from all conversation and after a minute of the silent treatment from the angry blond, Inoichi announced, "If you won't talk to me, I'll have no choice but to enter your mind again and get the answers that way." He stood up and walked over to Naruto and was about to place his right hand on top of the boy's head, but Naruto grabbed his wrist. Inoichi pulled free and was about to try again, this time making sure he moved too fast for Naruto to respond, when Hinata cried out to Naruto, stopping both of them.

"Naruto-kun, please," Hinata begged Naruto, remembering how Inoichi had defended her last night. "Inoichi-san really does want to help you. Please talk to him. No, please talk to _us."_

Naruto reluctantly turned his head towards Hinata and flinched away when he saw that she was crying again. He had been so determined to keep himself shut away until everyone else got the message and left him alone, but now that he could see that he was still hurting her by trying to distance himself from her, his resolve crumbled.

"I…I don't remember that much," Naruto said slowly to Inoichi. "It's all kinda fuzzy, y'know? I remember hitting my head on something and then the next thing I know, everything was dark. Then I remember hearing a few voices but I can't remember what they were saying."

"I see," Inoichi said and frowned at the vagueness of Naruto's answer. The problem was that he could tell Naruto wasn't being evasive, leaving Inoichi to wonder if Naruto was trying to suppress the memory or if he truly did not remember. However, there were two positives. One was that this likely meant Naruto still did not know about the _Kyūbi no Yōko_ sealed inside him. The other was that Hinata had been able to convince Naruto to respond. Perhaps she was the pillar of strength Naruto needed…

"Okay, Naruto. With that out of the way, it is my duty to inform you that we will be conducting these sessions regularly over a minimum period of six months. Whether or not these sessions continue beyond that depends on your willingness to cooperate." Naruto did not give him any further response. The look in his eyes told Inoichi all he needed to know about Naruto's thoughts on the matter. He pushed the chair back to its original position and opened the door to leave, taking only one more look at the broken children in their beds. He was about to say something else until Naruto's eyes met his, and he chose instead to clear his throat and empty it of the words that had just died there.

Now that they were alone again, Naruto looked Hinata in the eyes and saw that she was worrying over him. He still didn't understand why; he wasn't worth her concern, or anyone's for that matter. The sooner they let him die like he wanted, the sooner they wouldn't have to concern themselves with him. _If only they'd just let me end it already so they won't have to worry anymore…_

"Listen to me, Naruto-kun," Hinata said. "I—"

"Don't," Naruto cut her off. "Please don't, Hinata."

"If you won't listen to Hinata, then maybe you'll listen to me, for once," a new, all too familiar voice piped in from behind the door. Both Naruto and Hinata turned their heads towards the door and made a simultaneous exclamation of their surprise as it opened:

"Iruka-sensei!"

* * *

Iruka was already shaking his head at Naruto before he even entered the room. There were no words he could really use to adequately describe how he felt, seeing Naruto wrapped up like a mummy and confined to a bed, with Hinata looking almost as bad. He was angry beyond belief with Naruto for pulling this latest stunt, but at the same time, he was angrier with himself, and also terribly frightened by seeing that Naruto was even capable of deliberately trying to kill himself. He thought he knew Naruto better than this. He knew Naruto had been alone his entire childhood, but the blond troublemaker hadn't shown any signs at all until now that would go this far to cry out for attention. Naruto may have been the dead last, having failed so many of his assignments, but Iruka knew now that he was the real failure.

Iruka remained silent for what felt like an eternity as he grabbed the chair Inoichi had used and moved it back between Naruto and Hinata's beds. He could only recall one other time when he had trouble speaking to Naruto, and it was back when Naruto was starting out at the Academy. Iruka had been reluctant to teach Naruto back then, at least before he was set straight by a certain jōnin who would be Naruto's new instructor after he was released. But the awkwardness he'd felt back then wasn't even close to what was present between them now as he struggled to find the right words to say.

"What the hell were you thinking, Naruto?" Iruka eventually forced himself to ask. He managed to keep the anger out of his voice, leaving only exasperation. But Naruto didn't care how he was trying to come across.

"It's none of your damn business," Naruto growled.

"None of my damn business?" Anyone who might have been listening in could have practically heard the quotation marks around Iruka's incredulous repeating of Naruto's words. "I am your teacher, Naruto, and what happens to you is my damn business. And I just can't believe that you would do something like this without trying to talk to me."

"So now you care?!" Naruto snapped. From his point of view, Iruka was trying to guilt trip him, which only made him angrier with his instructor. "All you ever do when you pay attention to me is scold me! You always tell me to study harder but you never actually do anything to help me! So why don't you just piss off?!" From the corner of his eye, he could barely see Hinata's eyes widen at his yelling and her left hand moving up to cover her mouth.

"I was trying to treat you like a normal student!" Iruka shouted back, causing Naruto to flinch from the anguish in his voice. He was breathing heavily afterward, his yelling taking a lot out of him. "I thought that being strict on you was the best way to get you to do better, but now I see that I was wrong," he continued more quietly, but the softer tone gave these words a greater impact. "As a teacher, it's my job to treat all of my students equally and not give any of them special treatment. But we often forget that every student has different needs." He stood up and walked over to the right side of Naruto's bed and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders. "And I'm sorry, Naruto. I couldn't see what you really needed. Please forgive me."

Naruto's eyes widened as Iruka issued his apology, then screwed shut as his tears started to fall. He knew now that Iruka meant what he said. He hadn't meant to push his teacher that far, though. Iruka wasn't just a teacher to Naruto, he was the closest thing Naruto had to a father. But with how much turmoil he was still in, how was Naruto supposed to know what to think or believe anymore? How was he supposed to know who, if anyone, he could trust? Almost everyone else in the village had either lied to him or ignored him, and it had taken a particular angry rant from Sakura for him to realize why.

"It's not your fault, Iruka-sensei," Naruto said, pushing Iruka's hands off him. "I caused you all that trouble. And not just you. You don't have to apologize. It's really—"

"Don't say it," Iruka interrupted.

"But—" Naruto tried to protest, but Iruka raised his hand to warn Naruto that there would be consequences if he didn't remain silent.

"I know you believe this is all your fault, Naruto. And I would be lying if I tried to tell you that you're not completely blameless here. But you are _not_ responsible for everything bad that happens in this world. Even the Hokage can't carry the burdens of the whole world on his shoulders, so don't think for even one second that you're capable of doing so, got it?"

"Then what's the point of being Hokage if I can't help everyone?"

"As revered as Hokage-sama is, he is still only human. A single man can't change the world by himself. Nor can he change what others think of him."

Naruto crossed his arms and looked away from Iruka, closing his eyes so he wouldn't also have to look at Hinata. "If I can't make anyone acknowledge me, then what am I supposed to do?"

Iruka walked back around and sat down between Naruto and Hinata's beds. Naruto still had his eyes closed, but Hinata was staring at him almost as intensely as he was thinking about what needed to be said to get Naruto back on the right path. "You are only responsible for your own actions, Naruto. You are the only person you can change, and if no one else in this village wants to see that you are trying to change into a better person, then they are not worth your time. Those people are the ones who can't be pleased. They're the ones who will always try to find flaws in you when they should be looking inward to address their own problems. If you find yourself around those people, the best thing you can do is to leave them be."

"Iruka-sensei is right, Naruto-kun," Hinata spoke for the first time since Iruka entered the room, making Naruto reluctantly open his eyes to look at her. "I know you feel like you can't change yourself. I used to feel that way too, Naruto-kun. You just have to focus harder and take things at your own pace, until you become the person you want to be."

Naruto just turned away from them again. "I don't even know who I wanna be anymore, so why does it matter whether or not I can change myself?" he asked, confirming to them that mere words were not going to be enough to get through to him. However, his next words would again rekindle the flame of hope that he repeatedly tried to stamp out:

"Y'know, Iruka-sensei…while I was up there, I was thinking about that question you asked a long time ago."

"What question was that, Naruto?" Iruka asked with a smile.

"You asked us, 'If the world were going to come to an end tomorrow, who would we like to spend our last day with', right?"

Iruka's smile widened as Naruto kept opening up to him. "That's right. Were you able to find an answer?" But his smile vanished when Naruto turned back towards him and he saw that Naruto was struggling to not cry again.

"I thought that question was so stupid when you asked it, so I just folded up my paper and threw it out the window," Naruto explained. "There was just no way the world was gonna end. But then last night, my world almost did end, and then I understood what you were trying to ask. But I still couldn't think of anyone, and…" his voice trailed off, and both Iruka and Hinata felt a violent jolt from Naruto's anguished confession.

"Um, Naruto, about that…" Iruka tried to say, but stopped himself after seeing Hinata look at him expectantly. _No, now isn't the right time. He wouldn't be able to handle it if I told him that Hinata wrote down his name for that assignment._ "Never mind. Just try to get some rest, okay? The two of you have a long week ahead of you." Hinata nodded, while Naruto just looked away again. _It's probably better that they wait to find out about their new living arrangements until after they're released,_ he thought to himself as he moved his chair back to its original position and opened the door to leave. But before he left, there was one more thing he felt Naruto needed to hear.

"Naruto, I know you think this is all your fault and that you deserve to die alone. But before you let those thoughts cloud your judgment, you need to ask yourself this. If that were really true, why would Hinata risk her life to save you?"

The moment Iruka closed the door, Naruto pulled the blinds around his bed shut again, refusing to spare Hinata another look and shutting down any further attempts she would have made to plead with him. There was only one thought on his mind right now.

_It doesn't matter…she shouldn't have saved me…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well...after yesterday, I've decided to allow guests to comment. I hope I won't regret this decision...
> 
> Anyway, I believe there's only one thing that needs to be pointed out that wouldn't cause me to delve into a rant about certain fanon misconceptions and that is this: For those who weren't paying attention to Chapter 1 (and haven't read this story on FF), Naruto not knowing about the Nine-Tails is NOT a plot hole. The Scroll of Seals incident did not happen like it did in canon because Naruto did not fail his third attempt at the graduation exam in this story.


	5. Lies and Secrets

It was a small irony for Hiashi Hyūga that peacetime offered him fewer moments of actual peace like the one he was currently experiencing than he would have found in times of increased conflict.

The Hyūga patriarch was sitting outside in the main courtyard, sipping a cup of _genmaicha_ and looking off towards the sunset. For once, he found himself with a brief reprieve from his responsibilities as the clan head, something he very much needed after the incident two nights ago. The stress caused by Naruto's suicide attempt was already bad enough, but then Hinata had just had to sneak out and get herself injured trying to stop it, and now his father was pressing harder than ever to have his daughter sealed for the perceived disgrace. But though Hinata failed, no one else had even _tried_ to stop Naruto from jumping, and it was the actions of Hinata's bodyguard earlier that day that helped push Naruto to make the lethal jump. Hinata was the only member of their clan who had tried to act honorably, and the rest of the clan was too blinded by her past failures to realize it.

Hiashi was broken from his musings by the sound of the door behind him sliding open. He turned his head to meet the gaze of his younger daughter's attendant, a green-haired woman named Natsu.

"My apologies for disturbing you, Hiashi-sama, but Hokage-sama has arrived and insists on an audience with you," Natsu announced.

Hiashi allowed none of the surprise or the annoyance he felt from this intrusion to show. "Send him in," he instructed Natsu in standard Hyūga fashion. Natsu nodded and walked away quickly, making way for Hiruzen, who entered the courtyard with all the grace required of his station.

"May I trust that you have better news for me than what was discussed during our last meeting, Hokage-sama?" Hiashi asked with a small amount of caution.

"That depends on your definition of 'better news', Hiashi-san," the aged leader stated dryly as he moved slowly to sit down in front of the Hyūga clan head.

"When one considers the rarity of being graced with multiple visits from the Hokage in the same week, it would certainly beg some questions."

Hiruzen reached underneath his robe for his pipe and lit it, much to Hiashi's chagrin. The exhale of smoke a few moments later wrested a look of annoyance out of Hiashi. "My apologies, Hiashi-san. Where are my manners? If you would like some tobacco, I have more than enough on hand to spare. It isn't the most expensive brand available, but it serves its purpose."

"You never were good at jokes," Hiashi muttered, no longer bothering to conceal his annoyance after it had been exposed so early into this meeting.

"And you always seem to be stressed out, no matter how well you may hide it most of the time. You should consider my offer."

"Unlike most members of the Sarutobi Clan, I do not require forming an addiction to find relaxation. More importantly, if I were to indulge in such vices I would run the risk of growing negligent in my duties over time."

Hiruzen frowned at Hiashi as he took another deep breath of smoke. The bluntness in the Hyūga's words spoke volumes of what he really felt about the incident with Naruto. "I must admit that you may have a point there. After all, I have allowed you to speak far too brazenly."

Hiashi frowned back; as lenient as he was with most of the clan heads, Hiruzen still never made an empty threat. His next words had to be chosen carefully. "If I may continue to speak freely, sir, I believe that you should be thanking me for my willingness to share my true thoughts."

"Keep in mind that you continue to tread dangerous ground, Hiashi-san. Your words reek of arrogance." Before Hiruzen could go on, the door behind Hiashi opened to reveal Kō Hyūga, who was missing his _hitai-ate_ and had bandages wrapped around his forehead.

"Hiashi-sama—" Kō began, but froze instantly when he noticed the Hokage sitting across from the clan head. It was impressive, really, how rapidly someone like him whose skin was naturally pale could have all the blood drain from their face. But at the same time, the sight of Hiruzen provoked a deep fury, one that Kō could not hide. "Forgive me, sir. I didn't realize you had company," he said both too quickly, and not quickly enough.

"It is not my forgiveness you require, Kō-san, but I will excuse your interruption this time," Hiashi said. "What did you need to say?"

"I have the necessary paperwork for the remainder of this month's finances along with a few letters addressed to you, Hiashi-sama. Should I leave them on your desk?"

Hiashi nodded. "That will be fine. You are dismissed." Kō could not leave quickly enough, and once he was gone, Hiashi turned back to Hiruzen to be met with ire.

"Hiashi-san, what was your purpose in allowing Kō to live? Branding him with your clan's atrocious juinjutsu makes him far less valuable. You should have issued the _proper_ punishment for his actions."

"With all due respect, sir, this is not a game of _shōgi._ While I agree that his usefulness has diminished, killing Kō-san outright would not have brought me any benefit. And while I am certain Hinata does not harbor any love for Kō-san after what he did to the boy with whom she remains infatuated, she would not wish death on him either."

Hiruzen's coughing at that line was probably supposed to be a chuckle. "Perhaps there is some truth to the accusations of your clan's elders about you being too soft."

"Hardly, sir. But for the time being, the seal is punishment enough. Kō knows now that his life is in my hands, and that if he approaches Naruto again, it will be the last thing he ever does. All others in the clan have been made aware of the consequences for disobeying the order you instructed me to relay to them two nights ago."

Hiruzen nodded. "When you put it that way, I suppose I can uphold your wish to show leniency towards your daughter's former bodyguard _for now."_ He then put down his pipe before continuing, "But now that you have mentioned Naruto, let us get to the reason why I am here this evening."

Hiashi finished off his cup of tea and took a single deep breath, knowing the Hokage would soon repeat the underhanded tactics of their last meeting. "Hokage-sama, during our last meeting, you mentioned that you were planning to have Hinata attempt to fix Naruto, but had not made a final decision," he said. "Have you come to a decision, sir?"

"Your words can be taken to mean that Naruto is merely a tool," Hiruzen muttered; as predicted, he was still trying to provoke responses that would be unbecoming of a Hyūga.

"We both know that is not what I said." Inwardly, Hiashi was outraged by Hiruzen's hypocritical behavior. "But Uzumaki also is not a shinobi and after what happened, he is not ready to become one. I would be somewhat surprised if there is any part of him right now that resembles who he was, or at least who he appeared to be, prior to his failed suicide attempt."

"You sounded a bit like Naruto's jōnin instructor there, Hiashi-san. But Naruto will be ready to accept the responsibilities of being a ninja, and he will make a full psychological recovery. He just needs time along with people whose efforts he is willing to accept, and Hinata is one of only a handful of individuals who has been able to get Naruto to make any positive response."

Hiashi folded his arms and narrowed his eyes at the Hokage in a sharp escalation of the normal Hyūga glare. "Have you taken into account that for the next four to six weeks after she is discharged, depending on the _iryō-nin_ attending to her now, Hinata will require assistance in order to move anywhere? Her injuries will leave her confined to a wheelchair for that time period, so how is she supposed to navigate Naruto's apartment or enter and exit on her own? And let us not forget the issue of living space. Naruto's apartment is only barely large enough for one person. Its size is insufficient to accommodate any other residents. If you were to make my daughter live there anyway, would you expect her to share a bed with Naruto? Knowing full well that it is already inappropriate for two unmarried individuals of opposite sex to live in such close quarters?"

Hiruzen met and exceeded the Hyūga patriarch's glare. "I am _not_ promoting an adolescent romance, Hiashi. I am simply using all of my available options to ensure that Naruto recovers. That being said, if Naruto and Hinata do make the choice to pursue that kind of relationship, I will also not interfere with it, provided that they do not take certain steps before they reach the age of majority."

Hiashi did not have to be reminded that he had likely pushed too far in voicing his concern and backed down. "If that is the will of the Hokage," he said.

"It is, indeed," Hiruzen said. "Anyway, I see that you have given this a lot of thought," he continued. "And I have an idea to address most of the problems you pointed out, but it will require your assistance."

Hiashi raised an eyebrow. "Why is it that I always have a bad feeling whenever you ask for help?"

Hiruzen laughed at that question for almost thirty seconds before suffering from another coughing fit. "Thank you for reminding me of the real reason I permit you to step past some of the normal boundaries in our conversations, Hiashi-san," he said after recovering. "They would not be nearly as enjoyable otherwise.

"But we are getting off track here. There is a small, two-bedroom studio apartment next to the Academy that was recently vacated and addresses the disability issue. The location is of great convenience, both to us and to Naruto and Hinata, as it is only a short distance away from most of the shops and restaurants they frequent. It would be far easier to supervise them once they are settled in, and would only cause a relatively minor disruption in their daily lives. But there is one major problem."

"Money," Hiashi observed, and Hiruzen nodded to confirm.

"This apartment costs two million ryō, making it twice as expensive as Naruto's current apartment. Unfortunately, it is beyond my financial ability as Hokage to purchase the apartment by myself without tapping into village funds, and far beyond the ability of genin who have yet to receive their first mission. And I am already exhausting one-fourth of my annual salary to provide Naruto with his monthly pension and pay his bills. At most, I can only cover half of the cost. And that is where you come in."

Hiashi narrowed his eyes at Hiruzen. "If you are unable to procure the apartment yourself, how would I be able to provide all of the necessary assistance on my own? Wouldn't you be better off requesting contributions from the other clan heads?"

"Come now, Hiashi. With all the prestige your clan has, surely the clan's communal funds are still large enough to match?"

Hiashi closed his eyes and kept them closed for almost an entire minute, contemplating what the Hokage was asking of him. He knew he should have been immediately compliant, but there were far too many complications. "Pardon me for asking these questions, but I am in need of some clarification. You said that the apartment you wish to acquire for Naruto and Hinata has two bedrooms? And Iruka-san will be available to watch them while they are not under the supervision of their jōnin instructors?"

"Yes to both questions."

"Very well. Tomorrow morning, I will send two of my personal guards to accompany you to the bank and authorize a withdrawal of exactly one million ryō from the Hyūga account to be used on this purchase."

Hiruzen frowned as he picked up his pipe and refilled and re-lit it. "Even for someone who is as strongly committed to his duties as you are, that was far too easy. There's a catch to this."

"That is correct, sir. Once my father and the other elders learn of this transaction, they will undoubtedly ask questions about why such a large amount of clan funds was used in such a manner. The problem with justifying this action to them as their duty to the village is that it is Hinata who is the most deeply involved of us here. Hinata's intervention may have saved Naruto, but they still view her actions as yet another failure in a long list of such. Something must be done to either appease them, or remind them of their place. Given your usual policies, the former seems more likely."

Hiruzen's eyes widened briefly, then narrowed. "Are you suggesting that your clan's juinjutsu is to be used on Hinata? I should not have to remind you or them that since Hinata is now a registered ninja of Konoha, I can and will have anyone who subjects her to receiving the juinjutsu against her will and without just cause executed."

"We both know just how much the elders want Hinata to be sealed and banished to the Branch House, Hokage-sama. We also both know that it will _never_ happen," Hiashi clarified, placing far more emphasis on _never_ than necessary, which served as a reconfirmation of how much he still hated the Caged Bird Cursed Seal. "But that leaves me with only one other option."

For the second time in this meeting, Hiruzen put down his pipe. "So it looks like a certain expectation I had of you from our last meeting will be fulfilled after all, much to my disappointment."

"Regrettably, yes. The true cost of this purchase will be no less than the immediate emancipation of Hinata from the Hyūga Clan. This will likely be the last time I will be able to use my position as clan head to protect or support her. This cohabitation mission you are assigning to Hinata will become a permanent living arrangement."

* * *

_Three days later…_

Naruto's eyes snapped open as he heard the door to his room close. He had pretended to be asleep while the medics assigned to his room checked in on Hinata. In his experience, security at the hospital was lousy; he'd always managed to get out of here on his own during the other times he found himself stuck here. Escaping was just a matter of timing. Since he was in the basement, it would be a little more difficult for him to break out this time, but that had never stopped him before.

He was sick of being here, sick of everyone trying to pretend they cared. For the entire week, Naruto had to put up with the nosiness from everyone who stepped inside. Inoichi was the worst offender among them; right from the start, Ino's father had proven himself to be far more annoying than his daughter, telling Naruto that he had already gone inside his mind without his permission and would do it again if Naruto remained uncooperative. The medics were not much better, with their needles and all; was it any wonder Naruto thought they were trying to kill him each time he stayed too long like he had now? And the others…

Naruto winced as he pulled the IV drip out of his arm and slowly walked towards the door. His legs had healed enough that the casts were taken off this afternoon, removing the only real obstacle that stood between him and his escape. But right as his hand gripped the handle, he stopped.

He sighed wistfully as he turned to look at Hinata, who was sleeping right now but not peacefully. He couldn't lie to himself; he knew Hinata wasn't pretending like the others, but that only made it worse because he just wasn't worth her compassion. Especially when it had brought her so much pain. Lying down on her bed, leg still suspended and arm in a sling, made her look so fragile, which caused Naruto to flinch even as he found himself walking towards her. Her cheeks were crusty and red from all the tears she had shed for him, tears he did not deserve.

He didn't know what he was doing as he reached his hand out towards her; it felt like he wasn't in control of his own body anymore. His better instincts screamed at him to turn around and bolt out the door while he still had the chance. They were drowned out by the voice of his heart, speaking in an unfamiliar language, but its demands were clear to him nonetheless. It told him to seek out a connection with Hinata and accept the comfort she offered. The thought of accepting Hinata instead of pushing her away was something the rest of Naruto did not want to consider, and yet…

Naruto's hand gently touched the top of Hinata's head, his fingers running through her silky midnight hair. Any unease Hinata had shown vanished instantly and she smiled in her sleep, as though she knew somehow that he was next to her, comforting her like she had tried to comfort him. And much to his shock, Naruto found himself smiling a few seconds later. When he realized this, he pulled his hand away as quickly as he would have if it had been touching a heated surface.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_ Naruto asked himself, pushing aside the foreign feeling in his chest. He bolted towards the door and opened it, but didn't make it two steps out into the dark hallway before he ran into something that knocked him back into his room. "Ow…"

"Well now, Naruto, where were you going to run off to this late at night?" a familiar voice asked. Naruto recoiled further and almost slipped and fell again as he scrambled to push himself up and confront the intruder, who was revealed by the flicking of the light switch to be none other than the Hokage. "And might I ask you to calm down? We'll both be in trouble with the nurses if they come down here to find you out of your bed and yelling," he added.

Any shock Naruto felt at hearing this voice vanished once the lights were turned on. He glared at Hiruzen as he asked, "What do you want, old man?"

"The first thing would be for you to answer my first question. Why are you out of bed? Where were you planning to go?" Naruto was about to make a flippant remark when he heard a groan. He turned to his left to see Hinata rubbing her eyes with her left hand and trying to push herself up.

"W-What's going on?" Hinata asked softly.

Naruto turned back towards Hiruzen and growled. "Nice going, old man. You woke her up," he muttered.

"As I recall, you were the one who shouted at the top of your lungs, Naruto. Frankly, I'm surprised we haven't had any reports of the dead coming back to life from your yelling," Hiruzen admonished him. Naruto crossed his arms and looked to his right, mumbling incoherently. It was clear to Hiruzen that the boy had waited to leave until Hinata was fast asleep, and he was now cursing at himself for not running off sooner. "Just so you know, you would not have made it out of the hospital this time. I have learned from your past visits and increased security here. There are Anbu posted on every level of the hospital. Had I not been here, they would have dragged you back into your room the moment you stepped out the door."

Naruto's head spun back around so fast that the bones in his neck made a popping sound. "What the hell?! Since when do I need those creepy masked guys following me around everywhere? That's a violation of my privacy, y'know!"

"You gave up your right to privacy when you decided to kill yourself. Don't think you'll be given back that right anytime soon. You should be grateful that I didn't order the medics here to have you strapped down to your bed." Naruto's response was to simply clench his fists and glare harder at the Hokage. "And I would have been justified in doing so. We both know you were going to make another attempt to end your life the very second you escaped from the hospital. I see this truth in your eyes."

"So what?!" Naruto screamed. "Why does it matter to you? Why the hell does it matter to any of you?!" He snapped towards his left, fixing his glare on Hinata, who shrank back and wanted to bury herself under her blankets. "I'm sick of it! First you, then Ino's dad, then Iruka-sensei, and now Hokage-ojiichan too?! Why can't any of you just leave me alone?! You were all so good at it before this happened!" Not wanting to give either her or the Hokage a chance to respond, he ran out the door, deliberately bumping into the latter as he ran.

"You have to stop him!" Hinata cried. "Naruto-kun—"

"Will be fine," Hiruzen cut her off, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Contrary to what I told him, the Anbu have been instructed to leave Naruto alone and allow him to exit the hospital. But they will still make sure Naruto does not try to do himself further harm. He will be fine."

"No, he won't!" Hinata insisted, unaffected by Hiruzen's attempt to reassure her. She was just about ready to rip the wires supporting her leg out of the ceiling again and crawl after Naruto if that was what it would take to bring him back. "Naruto-kun says he wants to be alone but that's the last thing he needs right now! Naruto-kun needs someone to be there for him!"

Hiruzen sighed deeply as he closed the door and placed a barrier seal on it to prevent anyone else from entering. "For the moment, it is best that Naruto is not here. There are certain things I need to tell you that cannot be said while he is present." Almost instantly, Hinata's wailing stopped, to be replaced with an expression that was equal parts curious and angry. Most shinobi would have been slightly unnerved by how quickly her mood shifted.

"What do you mean?"

Hiruzen took one of the chairs and pushed it towards Hinata's bed. "There is no point in beating around the bush here," he explained as he sat down. "Four days ago, the morning after Naruto's suicide attempt, I issued you a field promotion to make you an official genin instead of a probationary genin. This was necessary because you are needed for a mission of the utmost importance, one that cannot wait until your injuries have healed. Your first assignment as a Konoha-nin is a cohabitation mission which will commence when you are discharged from the hospital tomorrow. Until further notice, you will live with Naruto and you will do everything in your power to mend his broken heart and put the shattered pieces of his mind back together."

Hinata could not have responded verbally to that missive no matter how much she wanted to. Hiruzen waited several minutes for her to acknowledge his orders, but received only widened eyes and a slack jaw, indicating that she was having far too much trouble believing his instructions. He sighed before continuing, "With that in mind, Hinata, there is something you need to know about Naruto before the mission begins. But the information I am about to tell you is an S-rank secret. Reveal this to anyone without my permission, and you will be killed. Do I make myself clear?"

"Absolutely not!" Hinata shouted. "Why are you assigning me to watch Naruto-kun? He wants nothing to do with me! Naruto-kun hates me for saving his life! I don't care what secrets you're keeping from Naruto-kun and I don't want to know them! Find someone else to help Naruto-kun because he obviously doesn't want my help!"

"Is that what you really think?" Hiruzen asked.

Hinata shook her head and flung away a few of the tears that she could not stop herself from shedding for Naruto. "Of course not! I want to help Naruto-kun more than anything else. But how can I help someone who won't let anyone in? Naruto-kun won't talk to me unless he's coerced. And now you're telling me that I have to keep a secret from Naruto-kun…" Her voice trailed off for a moment while she forced herself to look into the Hokage's eyes. "How can I help Naruto-kun if I cannot be open with him?"

"I would not give you that order if it was not absolutely critical that such a secret be kept. And this particular secret pertains to the reason Naruto is shunned by almost the entire population of Konoha."

"That only makes it worse! There is no way I could keep such a secret from Naruto-kun!"

"Even if your doing so protects him?"

For the second time in this meeting, Hinata's mood abruptly shifted and the shift was quickly followed by her asking, "What do you mean?"

Hiruzen took a deep breath, wishing that he was permitted to light up his tobacco pipe. As he exhaled, Hinata was left dreading the knowledge that would be forced on her. His voice only amplified her bad feeling as he started to impart that forbidden knowledge: 

"This story begins on the night Naruto was born…"

* * *

Much to his surprise, Naruto met absolutely no resistance from the medics or the supposed Anbu present as he ran up the stairs and through the lobby. He didn't dwell on it at all; he was fixated on getting back to his apartment where he might have just enough time alone to do what he'd failed to do when he jumped from the Hokage Rock.

None of his few precious people understood that it was too late to save him, or that they would only cause themselves more pain as long as they kept trying. If they bothered to ask why and he could be bothered to answer, he would tell them to take another look inside the room he just fled. Something as bad as, or worse than what happened to Hinata would surely happen to them as well.

Once he reached the top floor, he dropped to his knees, gasping for air. A simple short run from one place in the village to another had not exhausted him like that since his first year at the Academy. _I really took quite a beating in that fall,_ he thought to himself between heavy breaths. Spending several days in a row confined to a bed had clearly reduced his stamina. _But it doesn't make sense,_ he allowed that train of thought to continue as he looked down at the lingering bruises and scars on his limbs. _I'm sure that I took the brunt of the fall, so why did I heal faster than Hinata?_ That question sent him deeper into depressing thoughts as he realized that his fast healing was another curse. What was the point of Hinata trying to save him, or he her, if she received worse injuries than him in the attempt?

In his fractured and depressed mental state, Naruto didn't realize he'd punched his door until two seconds after his fist made contact with the wooden barrier.

"Damn it all! Why do I keep failing at everything I try to do?!" Naruto buried his face in his hands, unable to stop himself from crying and also coming close to hyperventilating. It was a struggle greater than anything he could remember to get his breathing under control while he choked on tears of frustration.

After he managed to calm down, Naruto reached for the box where he kept his spare key. His hand shook a little as he tried to insert it into the doorknob, then balled into a fist when the key didn't fit inside the hole like it was supposed to. Right away, he knew something else had gone wrong. Still, he was stubborn enough to try twice more before throwing his key down onto the floor and trying a different approach. If the key didn't work, he would just have to get in from outside the complex.

Naruto made his way outside only to find himself wincing as he looked up as his balcony from the street. He had only ever tried to get inside his apartment this way once before, and it had resulted in one of his first trips to the hospital. He shook his head, clearing away the painful memory. This time around, he also remembered something else, something that would hopefully get him up there.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," Naruto said in a low voice, narrowing his eyes at the balcony while forming a non-standard hand sign to mold his chakra for the technique. "Alright, guys. Throw me up there!" he ordered the four clones that appeared by his side.

"Are you crazy, boss?!" the clones all shouted back at the original.

"So what if I am? I hafta get inside our home!"

"Well, don't blame us when you send yourself back to the hospital!"

Naruto gave his clones a warning growl as he marched past them, determined not to let the issue of a nonfunctional key stop him. He took another look up at his balcony, only to whimper a few seconds later as he realized the plans he had been entertaining—the one where his clones launched him onto the balcony and the other one where they formed a human ladder for him to climb—would not have worked due to his fragile physical state and the unforgiving slope of the roof. So the only option was to go back inside and brute force the door with his clones. It wasn't like he was planning on ever leaving here again if his plans worked this time, after all.

Naruto's clones followed him back upstairs and with a nod from the original, started ramming the door. At first, the door didn't budge, but as each clone popped on impact Naruto observed how the hinges were weakening. Once the last clone and the smoke it left behind vanished, Naruto gave a final shoulder tackle to the battered wooden barrier, which suddenly gave under his momentum, sending them both crashing to the floor.

He didn't have time to catch his breath from the fall before his shock over not being able to enter his own apartment without breaking in worsened.

"Where the hell did all of my stuff go?!" he shouted at the completely empty kitchen before him. The fridge was gone, along with the kitchen table, the chairs around it, and the plant on top of it. Naruto trembled with each step he took towards his bedroom, knowing he would find the same thing there that he found in the kitchen, and sure enough: his bed, the dressers and nightstands, the alarm clock, the television he never used, the mirror next to the television, the poster with an illustration of a cup of instant noodles tacked onto the wall to the side of his bed, the plant that he kept between his bed and that poster, and the dirty laundry and dishes scattered across the floor; all of it was _gone._ It was like no one had ever lived here at all. One of Naruto's worst fears had come to pass: someone had seen fit to kick him out of his apartment and get rid of every one of his few physical possessions. And he didn't understand why. Naruto had never had any problems with the landlord of this complex; well, none aside from the usual distrust emanating from him. But as empty as this apartment had felt, at least it had given Naruto somewhere he could sleep every night, somewhere he could pretend was home. Now he didn't even have that anymore.

"This has to be some sort of sick joke," Naruto concluded as he walked back out onto the balcony and sat down. Whatever higher powers were out there had evidently decided to drag out and milk his suffering for all it was worth. The quick death he desperately sought would continue to elude him. He no longer had a bed in which he could fall asleep and simply not wake up, and now…

A loud growling sound made Naruto jump and scan his surroundings. After seeing that it was just him inside the apartment, he tried to sit again, but was stopped by a second growl. Realizing it was coming from his stomach, Naruto placed a hand over it and clenched at the thin garment covering him, and moaned. "Just great…"

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" Now someone actually was here, and their voice sounded way too familiar for Naruto's liking. Naruto ran back inside the apartment to find out who else was there and saw Iruka standing in the kitchen.

"Iruka-sensei? How did you get in here?" Naruto asked.

"I believe I asked you first. You're supposed to be recovering in the hospital," Iruka dismissed Naruto's question and scolded him. Naruto frowned as he crossed his arms and looked away.

"I don't need your concern. I'm fine."

"That's not what the Anbu who arrived at my place a few minutes ago told me. But since you're here, I can only guess that you haven't heard yet about your new living arrangements."

"You're damn right I haven't heard! Where the hell is all of my stuff? Why was I locked out of my own apartment?"

"This isn't your apartment anymore, Naruto. Hokage-sama has determined that you cannot be trusted to live by yourself. Until you earn back that trust, you will be living at a different apartment, closer to the Academy so that I can check in on you more frequently."

Naruto's head snapped around to face Iruka after hearing the confirmation that he had been relocated against his will. For a few seconds, eyes were widened almost to the point of bulging out of their sockets. Then they snapped shut and Naruto let out a bitter laugh.

"You too, huh?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Naruto," Iruka said.

"Bullshit," Naruto spat. "All of you think you're trying to save me when that's the last thing I need. You all think you're trying to help me, and that's exactly the opposite of what you're doing. Why are you doing it? Why does my trying to kill myself bother you so much? What do you really feel right now? Guilt? Pity? Whatever it is, I don't need any of it!" With that rant out of his system, he stormed past Iruka—or more accurately, he _tried_ to storm past his teacher. His stomach decided it was the perfect time to voice its thoughts on the matter again, and stopped him dead in his tracks with another loud growl.

Iruka sighed deeply after Naruto abruptly stopped. He had been just one second away from forgetting that they weren't in his classroom anymore and disciplining his former student with a hard fist slammed down onto the head when he heard the growl. _Of course_ the blonde was hungry; anyone else would have been after five days of nothing but intravenous drips and tasteless hospital food. Iruka knew what he was about to do was a low blow, but bribing Naruto with ramen could be just the thing he needed to get Naruto to start listening.

"Go ahead and continue to believe what you want about me, Naruto," Iruka said softly, placing the hand that had been about to hit Naruto on his shoulder. "Nothing will change the fact that I failed to be there for you when you needed me. But you have to accept that you _do_ need help, just as I told you back at the hospital a few days ago. And I _am_ going to help you, like I should have done from the very start."

"No, Iruka-sensei, you're _not_ going to help me," Naruto gritted through his teeth, pulling himself away from Iruka. "For the last time, I _don't_ need your help."

"So you think you can find your new apartment on your own, on an empty stomach? Are you going to risk getting caught breaking and entering and spending the rest of the night in a jail cell? And even if you don't get caught, how do you expect to pay for food?"

Even with his stubbornness, Naruto realized that he had been backed into a corner. He still didn't like what he was being told, but Iruka was right: he had no idea where his new "home" was and the thought of sleeping on a cold park bench with nothing to cover him didn't appeal to him at all. And of course there was the pressing matter of his stomach continuing to protest against being deprived of real food.

"Fine," Naruto conceded. "Let's just go now and get this over with."

* * *

Hinata was _livid._

The Hokage had just finished recounting his version of the events that devastated Konoha twelve years ago. But his attempts to sound regretful over his role in those events only made him come off as being more callous. He had just told Hinata that much of what she and the youngest generation knew of what happened the night Naruto was born was a lie, enforced in a vain attempt to protect Naruto from the adults who survived the horrors of that night. And worst of all, he had just told her that he was the one who told the entire adult population of Konoha that the _Kyūbi no Yōko_ was sealed inside Naruto. There were simply no words that could accurately convey just how _pissed off_ Hinata was at Hiruzen.

"How could you?" Hinata whispered, her voice dangerously low. It was the expected response, and Hiruzen already had a reply prepared, but Hinata did not give him any time to reply before she _exploded._ "What gives you or anyone else the right to do that to a person? How can you live with yourself after what you made Naruto-kun go through?"

"Be careful with your words, Hinata," Hiruzen warned the ranting, bedridden former Hyūga girl. "But also rest assured that it was not my choice to force Naruto to carry this burden."

"What difference does it make? You may as well have since almost everyone in the village treats Naruto-kun like the monster that's sealed inside of him! Why did anyone have to know? Why do I have to know? And most importantly, why doesn't Naruto-kun know?"

"Calm down, Hinata. That is an order."

"Calm down? Calm down?! Forgive me, _Hokage-sama,_ but the _last_ thing you want to order me to do is to _calm down!"_ Hinata screamed. "You turned Naruto's life into a living hell! You let Naruto get to the point where he believes he is better off dead! You, more than anyone else, are responsible for Naruto's suffering, so right now, there is nothing you can say that will mean a damn thing to me!"

Without moving a single muscle, Hiruzen released a short burst of chakra that was powerful enough to make several cracks appear in the floor and in the wall behind him. The monitors in the room and in the adjacent rooms went haywire, beeping rapidly before shorting out. And Hinata recoiled, pushing herself as far away from Hiruzen as her injuries and the many barriers directly behind her allowed.

"Consider yourself fortunate that I cannot punish you this time without compromising your mission," Hiruzen said sternly, his voice steadily rising. "I have repeated my warning to you from our last meeting once. I will not repeat it again. Do I make myself clear?!"

Hinata clenched her left fist and slowly bowed her head. "Crystal clear, Hokage-sama," she said begrudgingly, in the exact same tone she had used the last time she spoke those words. This time, Hiruzen allowed himself a sigh. Hinata continued to surprise him with her anger towards Naruto's treatment, acting as though she had been the one who was wronged by the village at large. Hiruzen knew he shouldn't have been so surprised; with the way her clan had treated her, Hinata was perhaps the only person in Konoha who could at least partially understand Naruto's suffering. Her display of anger here reinforced his belief that making her live with Naruto was the right decision.

"The public should never have been made aware of Naruto's condition," Hiruzen said in agreement with Hinata's stance on the issue. "However, my plans to keep the secret like it should have been were quickly derailed. There were only a handful of individuals who were allowed to get close to the newborn Naruto after he was found at the site where the Fourth Hokage gave his life to seal the monster fox away. Unfortunately, two of the medics who were attending to Naruto allowed their personal losses from that night to override reason. In their grief, they stopped seeing Naruto as an orphaned _human_ baby and instead saw only the monster contained within him. Since the Anbu presence at the hospital prevented them from making any attempts to end Naruto's life, they decided to leak this information to the rest of the population once their first shift ended." Hinata's anger towards Hiruzen did not lessen in the slightest as he gave her his explanation for why the majority of adults in Konoha knew the truth about Naruto, but she was starting to show the horror she felt from the despicable actions of those adults.

"The day after the leak, I was forced to choose between either attempting to lie to the village and claim that the Kyūbi was dead, and that the two _iryō-nin_ who claimed otherwise were spreading false information...or to confirm that Naruto was, in fact, a _jinchūriki_ for the _bijū_ that killed several thousand villagers." Hiruzen gave a weary sigh as his stern, straight posture seemed to shrink for just a moment. "Regardless of what I said, it seemed like the damage had already been done. But only after Naruto tried to end his life last week did I see that I made the wrong choice that day. I was naïve to think that just passing a law which made all discussion of the Kyūbi and all attempts to inflict harm on Naruto punishable by death, and enforcing that law the same day by publicly executing the _iryō-nin_ who forced me to enact that law, would be enough to give Naruto a chance at a normal childhood. I had hoped that given a few years, the villagers would be able to forget their pain and accept Naruto for who he is and not what is sealed inside him. I believed too strongly in the inherent good of my people. That is, perhaps, my greatest failing as a person.

"But we know what happened instead. Almost all of the adults continued to shun Naruto and instructed their children to do the same. They never moved past their fear of the monster fox. And in their fear, they did the worst thing imaginable to Naruto: _nothing._ They denied his very existence."

Hinata clenched her fist so tightly that had she not kept her fingernails short, they would be tearing through the bandages around her palm and piercing the skin. The slight pain in her hand was a welcome sensation, however. It gave her something to focus on other than the all consuming rage she felt. If the Hokage could see into her mind right now, she had little doubt that she would be executed in the very hospital bed which confined her.

"And I must reiterate that the decision to place this burden on Naruto was not made by me," Hiruzen went on. "It was his parents who decided his future."

"I don't believe that for one second." Hinata slowly raised her head to look at the Hokage and focused all of the disgust she felt into her eyes. "Naruto's parents would not have willingly sacrificed him. No loving parents would ever condemn their own newborn child like you claim his did."

Hiruzen sighed again as he brought out his pipe and lit it, while preparing himself for the bitching he would hear from the hospital staff as soon as he released the seal on the door. "If you will excuse my indulging in this vice, I am afraid that it is necessary to get through the next part of this story. But as much as I want to agree with your sentiment again, we both know that is not how our world works. Even so, it is difficult to imagine why Naruto's parents made the decision they did. By the time we found them, they were dead." He paused to take a lengthy puff from his pipe, both to center his own thoughts and to give Hinata a moment to let this new information sink in. "Why they gave him up to be used to contain the Kyūbi doesn't matter. What matters is that they did it and that the rest of the village fears and hates Naruto for it."

_The sins of the father,_ Hinata thought with a grimace. "Who were they? His parents, that is?"

"You are not authorized to know that information," Hiruzen curtly dismissed her question.

Hinata let out a curse under her breath that she would not have thought of uttering last week, one that would have resulted in receiving a violent slap from one of the elders had she uttered it at the Hyūga estate. The Hokage was deliberately withholding vital information from her, information that she needed to know, and more importantly, that Naruto _deserved_ to know. She was already planning to break Hiruzen's infamous law and tell Naruto what she had learned here as soon as she knew she could get away with it. But at the same time, Naruto had already been tormented enough and revealing the truth to him would only cause him more pain, pain he could not endure right now. If Naruto found out that Sakura was right after all and that his parents not only abandoned him, but held a large part of the blame for why the rest of the village mistreated him…

"So this is why Chichi-ue always…reminded me of the warnings the elders gave me about Naruto-kun," Hinata said delicately. "Why Kō-san always stopped me from talking to Naruto-kun when he saw me trying to reach out to Naruto-kun."

"And it is why Hiashi branded Kō with the Kago no Tori no Juin when the last time Kō interfered in your attempts to befriend Naruto contributed to his suicide attempt," Hiruzen replied.

_Of course Otōsama would have known,_ Hinata realized, the thought marking one of the first times she had ever held her father in contempt. _But Otōsama still allowed the elders to stop him from doing what should have been done for Naruto-kun._

"And do not presume that any attempt to confront your father or any other adult on the issue will do Naruto any favors," Hiruzen warned Hinata, knowing where her thoughts were headed before she could think them.

"Every child deserves to have parents, but you would deny Naruto-kun even the knowledge of who his parents were," Hinata said coldly. Her gaze was filled with nothing but contempt and disgust.

"I have told you everything you need to know about this, _genin,"_ Hiruzen dismissed the issue again, addressing her by her rank instead of her name as an added warning to drop the issue. "Remember that this is a mission of the utmost importance. While your personal feelings towards Naruto will be necessary to a certain extent to complete this mission, you would do well not to let them get in the way of your better judgment. This mission is not a free pass to—"

"To do what, exactly?" Hinata interrupted, her voice growing colder. The negative feelings in her gaze intensified, seeing how the Hokage was treating Naruto as an asset instead of the broken boy he was, and knowing she could not speak those accusing thoughts aloud and expect to live for more than a few seconds after letting her tongue slip.

Rather than reprimand her for the interruption, Hiruzen chose to sigh again. "Never mind. I trust you know what I am trying to say." He stood up and walked across the room, extinguished his pipe, then pulled out a scroll from underneath his robes and walked back towards the bed, maintaining a grim expression the entire time. "Now then, there is one more issue that must be discussed before I take my leave, one that concerns you more than Naruto. I wish I could give you a convincing apology, Hinata. It would seem that I am only capable of bringing you bad news this evening."

Hinata adopted a Now what? expression as she cautiously stretched out her left arm to take the scroll from Hiruzen. As it unrolled in front of her, her eyes widened when she saw the writing and recognized her father's penmanship. Her face quickly paled as she continued reading, and a few seconds later, her trembling hand dropped the scroll, which landed at her side.

"This can't be right. This has to be a joke," Hinata quickly denied what she had just read.

"I'm afraid not. As of three days ago, Hinata, you are no longer a member of the Hyūga Clan."

Now Hinata was reeling from the impact of this betrayal. As bad as things were between her and her father, she hadn't thought he would go this far to distance himself from her. Why would he do this? And how was she supposed to survive without the financial support of her clan?

"If it's of any consolation, Hiashi-san assisted in purchasing a new apartment for you and Naruto to share," Hiruzen again read Hinata's thoughts and answered, this time in a tone meant to reassure her. "Your new apartment is located close to the Academy. It isn't much bigger than the apartment Naruto used to live in, but it should be enough that he won't feel lonely like he did in his old one. The weekly payments you will be receiving from your ongoing mission will be more than enough to cover the cost of any other necessities."

In an instant, Hinata's anger towards the Hokage returned in full force and triggered an involuntary Byakugan activation. "You two planned this," she spat at him. "You and Chichi-ue."

"I will not confirm or deny that accusation. Nor did I approve of Hiashi's decision to cast you out of his clan even though my own actions are to blame for leading him to that decision."

Hinata reached for the scroll she'd dropped earlier and crushed it in her chakra-covered hand. "So be it. I'll play your game for now. I have no words which can convey just how angry I am with you and Chichi-ue for doing all of this. However, I am grateful that I no longer have to worry about my former clan trying to stop me from helping Naruto-kun. But if you will forgive me for saying this, Hokage-sama, you should remember one very important thing. Naruto-kun will take it much worse than I am when he sees how you have manipulated both him and me. When Naruto-kun learns what you have done—and make no mistake, he _will_ learn the truth one way or another—I do not believe Naruto-kun will _ever_ forgive you."

Somehow, Hiruzen managed to enrage her even further by grinning at her. "You let me worry about crossing that bridge when we get there. Tomorrow, your mission begins, so I advise you to get as much sleep as possible. And I expect you to show the same vigor in your interactions with Naruto that you displayed in our conversation here this evening." With that, he tipped his hat to her and removed the seal on the door, allowing several very angry nurses to start mouthing off at him as they surveyed the damage he caused to the room with his chakra flare.

It took Hinata another hour after the Hokage and the nurses left before her mind cleared enough to attempt a return to sleep. _Things should be better this way,_ she tried to reason to herself as she closed her eyes. _As much as I want to change the Hyūga Clan, it is doubtful that I could ever get Otōsama and the elders to listen. At least now, they cannot stop me from being there for Naruto-kun. And neither they nor the Hokage will stop me from finding out everything they're trying to keep hidden from Naruto-kun._

_But even though I should feel relieved now that I can give Naruto-kun the help he needs, for some reason, I feel like I have just traded one burden for another…_

* * *

It took much longer than usual for Iruka and Naruto to arrive at Ramen Ichiraku. First, Iruka had needed to get an assurance from one of the Anbu watching Naruto that Naruto wouldn't receive any severe punishment for breaking into his former apartment, since no one had told Naruto beforehand that he had been relocated. Then once that conversation was over, Naruto was walking so slowly towards the stand that Iruka had to stop a couple of times to make sure Naruto wasn't deliberately falling behind in an attempt to disappear.

By the time they arrived at the bar, it was almost closing time. Iruka saw that its owner, Teuchi was already preparing to close for the night and likely would have closed a few minutes early had he not shown up when he did.

"Good evening, Teuchi-san!" Iruka called out.

"Iruka-san!" Teuchi promptly stopped closing up shop and returned the greeting. "It's been a while since your last visit. Is Naruto with you?"

Iruka sighed before answering, "Yeah, our favorite kid should be right behind me," and then turning around to again make sure that Naruto was still behind him. He hadn't needed to bother; Naruto had already caught up and hopped onto the center stool.

"There you are, Naruto…" Teuchi said, and his voice trailed off as he saw that Naruto was wearing only a hospital gown.

"What's wrong, Teuchi-occhan?" Naruto asked, ever so briefly sounding somewhat like his old self.

His asking that question meant it hadn't yet occurred to him that his state of undress, and figuring out how to explain it, was the problem. Teuchi and Iruka traded looks, Teuchi silently asking if he should bring up the issue of why Naruto was in the hospital, while Iruka shook his head, urging the chef not to say anything.

"What can I get you?" Teuchi asked Naruto with a smile, going along with Iruka's silent request and pretending that nothing was wrong. Naruto mumbled something under his breath that the chef couldn't make out. "Say again?"

"Could you get us each one bowl of the usual, miso ramen with extra _char siu,_ please?" Iruka answered for Naruto. Teuchi nodded and went behind the curtains to start making their meal.

An uncomfortable silence descended upon Iruka and Naruto as the teacher sat down next to his student. Tensions between them were higher than they had ever been, and he would have to be very careful if he was going to defuse the situation.

"So the old man told you to keep an eye on me, huh? That's almost kind of him," Naruto broke the silence with a bitter tone.

"I'm not here with you because of the Hokage," Iruka insisted. He could not tell Naruto that he wasn't the first person Hiruzen would have chosen to watch out over him. "I'm here because I want to be."

"Why? To make sure I don't do anything like that again? You don't have to worry about that. Even if I tried, I doubt it would work."

Iruka placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder, gripping it a little tighter than intended. "What do you mean by that?"

Naruto turned away quickly, wishing he could take back what he just said. When he glanced back at Iruka and saw that his former teacher wasn't letting up, he realized there was no point in trying to hide his thoughts. "You saw how quickly I healed, right? That jump should have killed me. But it only took me a few days to heal. I shouldn't have healed that fast."

_That is not Naruto's natural healing factor at work there,_ Iruka noted. _He knows his fast healing isn't normal, but…_ "Naruto, have you experienced any weird dreams over the past week?" Iruka asked. He had to know whether or not the Nine-Tails had started appearing to Naruto as a result of his jump off the Hokage Rock.

"You're acting just like Ino's dad now. It's creeping me out, y'know." It wasn't the answer Iruka had hoped to hear. Before Iruka could say anything else, a loud gasp from behind the counter caught both his and Naruto's attentions.

"What on earth are you doing out here, Naruto?" came the concerned question from Teuchi's daughter, Ayame. "You shouldn't be out here. You should still be in the hospital. Iruka-san, please tell me you're going to take Naruto back to the hospital right now."

"It's…complicated, Ayame-san," Iruka said, too delicately for Ayame's liking. Then he turned to Naruto and asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Like hell I do," Naruto muttered back.

"Well, this is no good at all," Ayame said, shaking her head at Naruto and Iruka's stubbornness. She went back behind the curtains and walked out of the bar less than a minute later, carrying a thick blanket which she wrapped around Naruto. Naruto tried to squirm away from Ayame, but a stern look from Iruka quickly stopped his attempts to resist. "If you insist on being stubborn, at least keep this with you. I don't want to see you get sick because you're out in the cold like this."

"Thanks, I guess," Naruto muttered quietly at Ayame. She just shook her head at him before walking back around the bar to rejoin her father in the kitchen.

"You shouldn't always act like that towards people who want to help you, Naruto," Iruka lightly scolded him. "There are people who are worried about you."

"You're only saying that because of what I tried to do," Naruto replied bitterly, for once making the wise decision of keeping his voice low.

"You can't keep using that excuse every time someone shows concern for you, Naruto. Teuchi-san and Ayame-san didn't even know you were in the hospital until I brought you here. The only people in Konoha who know about that incident besides the Hokage, the clan heads, a few Anbu and medical staff, and myself are you and Hinata's teammates and new instructors, and Hinata's former bodyguard," Iruka explained. "And I can assure you that the last person on that list will not bother you ever again," he quickly added after seeing Naruto shrink away at the brief mention of Kō.

"So what? That's still a lot of people who wouldn't be pretending to be worried about me if I hadn't done what I did."

"Is that what you still think? That we're only pretending? Naruto, I may not be able to speak for most of the others, but I am not pretending, Teuchi and Ayame are not pretending, and I know for a fact Hinata is not pretending either. Think about it, Naruto. Hinata defied her entire clan and risked her life to save you that night. How can you possibly believe that she holds any ill intent towards you?"

Naruto wanted to continue dismissing the points Iruka kept trying to make. But Iruka's mention of Hinata instantly shut off his ability to speak. There was absolutely nothing negative he could say about Hinata's intentions that wouldn't get him called out for lying. And that was the problem. Even after everything he kept doing to push her away, Hinata still would not give up on him. Hinata was one of the exceptional few who genuinely desired to help Naruto, who truly considered him important to her. But Naruto had been so certain that ending his own existence was the right thing to do, so convinced of the complete unimportance of his life to the people around him. Why did Hinata have to say he was wrong to give up on living? Why did she jump after him when he chose to fall that night? Her words and actions just didn't make any sense!

"I…I don't know," was all Naruto could say to Iruka. Because he simply did not know what to make of Hinata. Everything she said to him or tried to do for him left him feeling confused and lost and it all hurt so much, knowing he couldn't give in and accept her. Naruto truly believed he did not deserve the compassion Hinata showed towards him, and he couldn't stand seeing her continue to bring more pain on herself with her continued efforts to reach out to him. And yet he knew Hinata would say it was the opposite if he gave in and went to her, that it was she who didn't deserve the kindness he had shown her four years ago. Hinata still didn't see there was something wrong with him, or that nothing good would come of him accepting her offer of friendship, but…

"Your order is ready," Teuchi announced. Lost as he had been in that depressing train of thought, Naruto had to blink several times before his brain registered the knowledge that the ramen Iruka ordered for him had just been set down in front of him.

_"Itadakimasu,"_ Naruto said weakly. Normally, he would already be halfway done with his bowl and two seconds away from asking for another, but now it was a minor struggle just to break his chopsticks and stick them into the bowl. And once the first noodles hit his tongue, he found that another of his worst fears had come to pass.

_So even ramen has abandoned me?_ he thought bitterly, reflecting on the taste and how it was way off. He no longer found comfort and warmth in his favorite food, only further despair, just like so many other things in his life.

Naruto only had a few moments to contemplate that philosophical conundrum before he felt a sudden wave of drowsiness hit him. He felt himself losing consciousness far too rapidly to even be able to cry out in confusion. He was only saved from a nasty collision with his bowl of ramen by Iruka wrapping his arms around him, steadying him on his stool.

"You drugged his ramen," Iruka said, his tone unintentionally accusing. A second later, he heard a loud crash behind the curtains.

"I'm sorry!" Ayame yelled from behind the curtains, panicking as she came out of the kitchen to explain herself. "It's just that Naruto looked so overwhelmed and exhausted, and we know how stubborn he gets when it comes to his health, so I had to do something. But I don't know if I overdid it with the sleeping powder…"

"Given his metabolism, he'll burn it off fast. But he's going to be grumpier than usual when he wakes up." Iruka sighed when he saw Ayame shrink away, having apparently convinced her that she made things worse. "I understand why you did it, and I appreciate your help. Thank you, Ayame-san. Naruto does need his rest, and hopefully this will make a few things easier."

"Oh…well…" Ayame blushed before walking back into the kitchen to pick up the pots she dropped when Iruka spoke about the sleeping powder she added to Naruto's ramen.

"It was no trouble, really," Teuchi insisted, smiling at Iruka as the teacher left two 100 ryō notes on the counter and carefully hoisted Naruto over his shoulder. "I hope Naruto recovers soon. This place just isn't the same without him here to brighten things up."

Iruka gave the old chef a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. Naruto will be back to his old self soon enough if I have anything to say about it!" He gave the father-daughter duo a wave before walking off into the night, leaving them with heavy hearts from their concern over their favorite customer. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I should apologize to those of you who are actually only reading this on this site and don't use FF. The reception from the AO3-only fandom was worse than I had hoped, and coupled with the time of year bringing bad memories, I was very reluctant to continue uploading chapters. Not to mention that there is a sharp drop in quality in the remaining chapters that I would wish to correct as best as possible.
> 
> \----------
> 
> (Remainder of A/N copied from FF)
> 
> Now then, I realize that some of the ideas in this chapter as well as the previous one may be controversial for some readers, but my co-author wanted to show a Hokage who, even though Konoha is supposed to be a military dictatorship, still has reasonable limitations on what actions he/she can take. Yes, his stance is influenced by what we see in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, but oh well. Money would logically be one of the biggest limiters on the Hokage's actions; Hiruzen would have to avoid doing anything (such as killing an excessive number of civilians) that would cause the flow of money from Konoha's financial sponsors to lessen to the point that all of Konoha suffers. If something like that happens...well, we remember why Rasa was desperate enough to have Suna join forces with Orochimaru and attack Konoha, yes?
> 
> In order to make the first scene in this chapter make sense, research had to be done on two things: the housing market in Japan, and modern-day political funding in Japan, the latter of which admittedly may not have been the best thing to look up since the Naruto world uses the daimyō system. But to elaborate:
> 
> 1) Yes, as small as Naruto's apartment in Part 1 is, it would be as expensive as that scene claims if it existed IRL. There are actual articles out there that attempted to put a price tag on Naruto's apartment and concluded that that tiny space is worth $100,000, or in the 1 million ryō range in Naruto currency.
> 
> 2) As the Hokage, Hiruzen would be limited in the number of missions he could still personally take, as he would only be able to leave the village during an urgent situation that specifically demands his presence (such as when a Five Kage Summit is convened). So his own personal salary as Hokage could logically be significantly lower than what a jōnin or Anbu would make on missions. Even then, we realize that Hiruzen supposedly not being able to use village funds to cover the cost of Naruto's new apartment may be more difficult to justify to readers, even though there are valid in-universe reasons for this. First, twelve years isn't all that long of a time since the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha which destroyed roughly one-fourth of the village before the attack was repelled, and it took that long for Konoha to recover most of its losses. Second, the demand for ninja from clients is known to be lower during peacetime than it is during periods of active conflict, and for a significant portion of Part 1, things are relatively peaceful for Konoha. And third, even though Naruto is Konoha's jinchūriki, some of Konoha's primary sponsors could interpret Hiruzen's use of village funds for Naruto's sole benefit as an unwelcome display of favoritism, which would negatively affect their will to supply Konoha with the necessary funds to operate as a military village.
> 
> Also, Hiruzen doesn't know the first thing about dealing with children. At least not here, he doesn't. He was probably better with them in the source material, but then again, he's still the one who allowed Naruto's childhood to be the way it was as well as the one who drove Asuma out of Konoha for several years to work directly for the daimyō.


	6. New Arrangements

"Where…am I?" Naruto asked, his voice groggy and his vision still blurry. He had absolutely no idea what had happened to him last night after leaving his apartment—correction, _former_ apartment—with Iruka. He rubbed his eyes and sluggishly pushed himself up off the futon he had been laying down on so he could investigate his surroundings. All he could see around him were four bare, white walls, a door, and a closet towards the back of the room. Was this supposed to be some sort of guest or storage room? If so, that would mean…

Naruto tried to bolt for the door, only to trip on his own heels and fall backward when it opened a second before he could grab the knob. Iruka stepped inside the room, holding a tray with what was supposed to be breakfast.

"Oh, good," Iruka said with a smile. "You're already awake, Naruto."

"Iruka…sensei?" Naruto asked. Accepting that he had slept at his teacher's house was easy now, aside from the problem of not knowing how he even got here.

"So you're not fully awake yet." Iruka sighed, then added under his breath, "How much sleeping powder did Ayame put in his ramen?"

"Huh?" Naruto gave Iruka a confused look. "Did you say something, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka frantically shook his head. "Oh no, it's nothing. Anyway, I brought you breakfast. I figured you must still be really hungry."

Naruto took a second look at the contents of that tray before crossing his arms and squinting his eyes in disapproval. "I don't think this counts as food, Sensei."

"Is that anything to say after I took care of you last night and then woke up earlier than normal to go through the trouble of preparing this food?"

"But—"

"No buts, Naruto," Iruka said harshly. "Eat it or I'll force it down your throat."

Naruto grumbled something incomprehensible before reluctantly reaching for one of the pieces of charcoal—er, _toast_ on the tray, but with how black the slice of bread was it might as well have been charcoal. It certainly felt and tasted like it when he bit down into the bread with some difficulty. Naruto felt all of his teeth aching from the hardness of the black toast, and his mouth rapidly dried up. Within a few seconds after forcing himself to take the first bite, Naruto found himself choking on the substance (that absolutely did _not_ count as food, as he'd just told Iruka-sensei). He quickly grabbed the glass of water on the tray and ignored Iruka's disapproving look as he chugged it down (Iruka clearly thought he was exaggerating, and okay, sometimes he did, but this time it was actually this bad). It was even worse than the bread: apparently the trade-off for not choking to death was having to gag at the foul taste and slimy feel of the water. Naruto slammed the now empty glass down on the tray and gave his former teacher a nasty look.

"Are you happy now, Iruka-sensei? That almost killed me, y'know!"

"Quit exaggerating, Naruto," Iruka said, still unimpressed with Naruto's attitude. "It's not that bad."

"Well then, I'd like to see you try it!"

"Okay then, but once I'm done showing you, I expect you to apologize and finish eating everything I made. Got it?"

"And if you choke like I did, you have to buy me ramen."

"Heh. Fine."

Needless to say, Iruka quickly found his assumptions on Naruto's behavior proven wrong. Five minutes and a trip to the bathroom later, Iruka threw the partially eaten slices of toast in the garbage can and placed a frozen bowl of _katsudon_ in the microwave for a Naruto who looked way too smug for his liking. But once the microwave finished and Iruka took the bowl out, Naruto's smug look vanished and was replaced with another nasty look.

"I thought we agreed that you'd buy me _ramen,_ you cheap skate!" Naruto shouted.

"Be happy that I'm letting you off easy," Iruka said with a frown. "You shouldn't waste food, Naruto."

"But even you nearly died from eating it!" Naruto continued protesting.

That did it. It was definitely time for some disciplinary action. "Be that as it may…" Iruka muttered in a low voice, then made a fist with his right hand and slammed it down hard on Naruto's head. "You're supposed to be grateful and accept what you're given!" He then sighed and started to walk away while Naruto whined, muttering under his breath, "I hope Hinata can teach this boy some manners…"

"You didn't have to hit me for that," Naruto complained, still whimpering as he rubbed his head. "You hated it too, y'know."

Iruka shook his head and pinched his nose as he turned back around. "Okay, listen carefully, Naruto. We don't have time to visit Ichiraku's today. I have to take you to your new apartment."

"What's the rush? It's not like anyone's gonna be there…"

Iruka stopped cold in his tracks. It was like the weight of the entire world, or at least the moon, had literally fallen on his shoulders with Naruto's words. Only now, a week after Naruto's last great cry for attention, was the chūnin finally starting to comprehend how his former student truly felt.

"It won't be anything like your old apartment, Naruto. I can assure you of that much," Iruka said slowly. "After all, I will be checking in on you regularly."

"Oh boy," Naruto said dryly. "That sounds so fun."

"And you will have a roommate," Iruka continued, his eyebrows twitching while he tried to ignore Naruto's attitude—a task which would quickly prove impossible to complete.

"WHAT?!" Naruto shouted, spitting out the rice and pork that had just entered his mouth, which landed right in Iruka's eyes.

"My eyes!" Iruka cried out in equal parts pain and disgust when the hot chunks of food coated in saliva hit his face, temporarily blinding him. He scrambled in random directions as he tried to regain his balance and find a towel or other kind of cloth to use to wipe off his face, only to knock down several pots and pans and break a few plates as he continued to stumble blindly. In all, it took Iruka several minutes of panicked searching, twice as many loud curses, and being confronted by a local patrol over a noise complaint from the neighbors (which also gave him the opportunity to file a complaint of his own, about the poor quality of the local tap water) to find that towel and calm down.

"Ahem," he grunted loudly, giving Naruto a much more stern look than usual. "If you're done misbehaving, I was about to tell you that your roommate will be someone you know well, someone the Hokage believes will be able to—"

"Help me?" Naruto cut in with a bitter tone to finish Iruka's sentence. "Tch. How many times do I have to tell you people before you get it? I don't need or want any help." Iruka's only answer to that was to intensify his stern expression. "But I guess I don't have a choice here, do I?"

"No, you don't."

Naruto crossed his arms and squinted his eyes at Iruka again. But his attempt to stare down Iruka was futile; the chūnin's stern expression did not lighten up at all. He kept up the staring contest for almost thirty seconds before giving up and realizing there was no way he could get Iruka to change his mind on this.

"Fine…" Naruto muttered as he turned away from Iruka and went back to picking at the _katsudon_. "Just as long as it's not Sakura or Sasuke-me…"

_So now Naruto resents his first crush, too,_ Iruka observed with no small sorrow as he walked out of the kitchen for a few moments to retrieve a paper bag from his closet. _That's to be expected after what Sakura did to him, but it'll make Hinata's mission that much harder._

"You'll find out soon enough," he said, placing the bag on the table next to Naruto's breakfast.

"What is it now, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto grumbled.

"While you were asleep last night, Hokage-sama had an Anbu bring me your clothes from the hospital. Once you're finished eating, get dressed. We're leaving in fifteen minutes."

Naruto stood up after one minute and tossed the unfinished bowl—which Iruka noted was filled mostly with vegetables—in the garbage can, then grumbled something incomprehensible while walking towards the bathroom, though his tone made it clear that whatever he was saying was a threat. All Iruka could do as he waited for Naruto to get ready was sigh. The only comfort he could find right now was in his belief that Naruto's feelings of resentment did not extend to Hinata.

* * *

The two things Hinata's morning had in common with Naruto's was her feeling groggy after waking up due to the unrest caused by her unwelcome conversation with the Hokage last night, and being reluctant to move in with her new roommate.

The injured former Hyūga girl struggled to push herself up into a sitting position without calling for assistance. After last night, she wanted to avoid all unnecessary interaction with others for a while, and asking a nurse to assist her with such basic actions currently qualified as unnecessary. Hinata was somewhat distrustful of them, and not just for reasons involving Naruto. Ever since that one day…

"Don't put any unnecessary strain on yourself, Hinata," a gentle voice snapped her out of her dark thoughts. Hinata sighed; of course someone was going to go out of her way to help her when she didn't want help. But at least it was her new instructor Kurenai and not a nurse who'd walked into the room to provide that assistance.

"Good...morning, Kurenai-sensei," Hinata greeted her, yawning.

"Good morning," Kurenai returned the greeting while she helped Hinata sit up. "We don't have much time to talk, I'm afraid. I've ordered some food from the cafeteria to be delivered to your room, which should be on its way now. I know from experience how much hospital food sucks, but there are worse alternatives."

Hinata groaned. The memory of her mission briefing was still at the front of her mind, which only served to worsen her mood. "Please don't remind me of what happened last night, sensei…"

"I'm sorry, Hinata, but we need to have this conversation now. And I think we should start with you telling me exactly what happened last night."

"Ugh…" Hinata rubbed her eyes with her one good hand before answering carefully, so as not to let her frustration with certain people get the better of her, "I was so angry with the Hokage. I suppose my anger made me feel more confident then, but now…with my mission about to start, I don't…" her voice didn't so much trail off as temporarily shut down.

Kurenai took note of Hinata's trembling hand and the small wet spot that formed on the upper half of her hospital gown. "Hinata, I know this is difficult, but…" Her voice trailed off; she knew it would only make things even worse if she had to remind Hinata of the consequences of disobeying her orders, but she didn't know what else she could or should say.

"Naruto-kun shouldn't have this forced on him," Hinata argued. "We know he's going to be against this. I understand what the Hokage ordered me to do, but if Naruto doesn't want me to be around him, then…maybe it's for the best that I do as he wishes and keep my distance from him."

Kurenai sighed. "Now you're just being childish," she said in a harsh tone.

"Excuse me?" Hinata looked hurt from her words, but Kurenai hadn't even begun chastising her student.

"Your behavior here shows me that you, like Naruto, do not appreciate the gravity of your situation. Hinata, you were recently banished from your clan, and the only possessions you have are the clothes you were wearing when you jumped after Naruto. You have no money and no friends outside of your former clan who would take you in, and you will need a wheelchair to move around for the immediate future, so if you refuse to live with Naruto, how will you expect to survive? As for Naruto, what do you think will happen to him if you disobey your orders? Right now, you are the only person in your age group and one of only a handful of people in the entire village who can elicit any kind of positive response from Naruto. He will not be okay with just anyone who would be assigned to watch over him, and that's assuming someone else can be found who is willing to do so."

"You're wrong about me, Kurenai-sensei!" Hinata yelled. She was shaking badly from Kurenai's harsh words as she tried to push her way out of the corner into which the crimson-eyed jōnin had her trapped. "Naruto-kun won't be okay with me living with him! His behavior last night proved that!"

"But let's put aside assumptions and talk reality," Kurenai continued, dismissing Hinata's cries. "If you don't follow orders, Hinata, this is what will happen. Naruto will be taken to a secured location underneath the village where he will be subjected to reconditioning. Until that reconditioning takes hold, he will be put in a straitjacket and locked in a padded room, and all sustenance he receives will be force-fed to him via tubes and intravenous drips. Naruto will never be able to heal if that happens. Is that what you want for him, Hinata?"

"Shut up!" Hinata screamed at the top of her lungs. "I _get_ it, okay?!" Kurenai should have reprimanded her for her disrespectful behavior towards a higher-ranking ninja, but chose to back off and give her time to calm down. Hinata wiped away the tears from her eyes and took several deep breaths to retake control over her raging emotions before continuing, "But it doesn't matter anyway. Until Naruto-kun realizes he needs help, nothing that anyone does for him will matter."

Another deep sigh from Kurenai. "Sadly, you are correct. Naruto's the one who has to make the choice to accept your help, but until he does, you still need to be there for him, regardless of whether or not he wants you around. I don't mean to sound controlling, but you need to trust me when I say that you staying by Naruto's side is what's best for him right now."

"Since when did anyone give a damn about what's best for Naruto?" Hinata asked in a low voice, her tone bitter.

Kurenai had no idea how she was supposed to respond to that. Hinata was absolutely right: there were so few people in the village who had ever shown any concern for Naruto, and all of those few had failed to do right by Naruto on multiple occasions. But that observation begged another important question. Kurenai recalled Inoichi's claim that Hinata wasn't fully aware of the strength of her feelings for Naruto…

"If I may, Hinata…what is Naruto to you?" Kurenai asked slowly.

Hinata was taken aback by the odd question from Kurenai. "What do you mean?"

"Over the past week, Hinata, you have accused many villagers, including the Hokage himself, of failing to do right by Naruto, though you also confessed to that same failing. What does Naruto mean to you? And don't try to pass off your actions as simply the act of a friend. I've been a ninja longer than you've been alive, and from my experience it takes a special kind of bond even between two comrades for someone to sacrifice themselves for another like that. And to the best of my understanding, you and Naruto only interacted a handful of times before you risked your life to save his. So tell me, Hinata, why did you jump after him?"

"You wouldn't understand…" Hinata muttered, shrinking away from Kurenai.

"Humor me." It was an order.

Hinata groaned again as she forced herself to look at Kurenai in her eyes. The jōnin observed her eyes becoming misty, not with a fresh wave of tears, but like she was trying to enter a trance in order to locate a memory buried deep within her mind. "It wasn't the sort of rescue you would see in an action movie, though I suppose you might find something like it in a cheap romance novel. Naruto-kun didn't do anything drastic like I did for him," she explained. A few moments later, she laughed a little, but her laugh was filled with sorrow and regret. "Looking back on it now, I suppose it's a little funny. Maybe he didn't jump off a cliff or anything like that, but Naruto-kun did save me."

"Go on…" Kurenai beckoned her student. Hinata's story had piqued her curiosity.

Hinata shook her head slowly before continuing, "Um…it happened on the day I enrolled at the Academy. It was just a few bullies picking on me. Naruto-kun ran up to them when he heard me crying and started yelling about how he was going to become Hokage. Then he tried to use the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu to protect me, like the Hokage protects the village, but the jutsu failed and the bullies knocked him out with one punch."

"I wouldn't call that much of a rescue," Kurenai commented, also shaking her head at the story.

"It wasn't the bullies he rescued me from." It was almost a whisper, but Hinata's words were resolute.

Just like that, it became clear to Kurenai _how_ Naruto had rescued Hinata that day. But before she could get Hinata to try and explain it herself, the door opened to reveal a nurse holding a tray of food. The nurse saw she was interrupting something and silently asked if she should leave, but Kurenai shook her head. "We'll continue this later, Hinata."

The nurse took that as a sign to set up the tray over the hospital bed so Hinata could attempt to eat her meal by herself. While she was messing around, Hinata asked Kurenai one last question: "Does he know yet? Does Naruto-kun know that I will live with him?"

Kurenai's reply came with a shrug. "He will soon enough."

* * *

To Naruto's further dismay, the walk from Iruka's apartment to his new apartment was very short, only taking a few minutes despite his efforts to drag it out. The size of the apartment itself also did nothing to improve his mood. Naruto placed his right hand over his eyebrows and squinted at the building for a few moments before turning away and frowning.

"Iruka-sensei…are you sure we're at the right place?" Naruto asked.

Iruka shook his head; he couldn't believe what he was seeing either. "This is where I was told to bring you. But this isn't like any apartment I've ever seen."

The "apartment" they were examining from the outside was separated from the main building, and from their current vantage point it looked more like a large storage unit. Why else would there be any physical separation from the main building? Iruka had needed to double-check with the landlord to make sure this was the correct location, and even after doing so, he was having problems wrapping his head around this being Naruto's new residence.

"Isn't it a little too big to be an apartment?" Naruto asked. After living for four years in a smaller apartment designed for only one person to live in, it figured that he was also having problems seeing this as his new "home".

"Maybe it's a new design. But that still begs the question why someone would want to keep it separated from the main building."

"Who cares?" a voice cut in from behind them. Iruka and Naruto both snapped around to face the owner of that voice; when they saw who was speaking, Iruka allowed himself a tired smile, while Naruto only frowned. "This will work better for the two of them. It minimizes the risk of a confrontation with nosy neighbors."

"Good morning, Kurenai-san," Iruka greeted the jōnin. "Where is—" he started to ask, but broke off his sentence because Naruto was still next to him.

"There isn't any point in hiding it from Naruto, Iruka-san," Kurenai said with a sigh and a shake of her head. "But since you were about to ask, yes, she is coming. There were some additional delays in preparing her to be discharged, and it wasn't easy to bring her here from the hospital."

Naruto didn't need to be told the name of his new roommate. The way Iruka and this weirdly dressed Kurenai lady (it looked like most of her clothes were just bandages) were acting gave it away even before they said _she_ was coming here from the hospital. That didn't stop him from wanting to protest again, but before he could say anything, _she_ arrived, and his heart sank at the sight of her.

Hinata had shed the hospital gown and was now dressed in a light blue blouse and black slacks, and the casts over her right arm and leg had been replaced; from what he could see of them, the new casts were a darker shade of blue and a lot less bulky. Her left hand was gripping a joystick on the arm of her wheelchair, which itself was an oddity; this wheelchair was able to move without anyone pushing it from behind. Naruto didn't even know that was possible (not that he would have cared to learn before now), and he felt compelled to ask.

"Hinata's wheelchair is a prototype, Naruto," Kurenai answered before he could voice his question. "It was built specifically to accommodate her unique situation. It can move like it does because it's powered by a pair of chakra batteries." Naruto numbly nodded at Kurenai's brief explanation; he didn't have the heart to question how complicated it was or ask her to simplify it for him. He turned back to look at Hinata…and immediately wished he hadn't.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun," Hinata greeted him with a bright smile and a wave. Naruto quickly turned away; seeing Hinata act happy about this made him feel sick to his stomach.

"Shall we go inside now?" Kurenai suggested.

"That would be a good idea," Iruka agreed. The Anbu that visited him last night to drop off Naruto's clothes also left him a total of three keys to the apartment, one for his use and the others to give to the broken children he was supervising. He reached into one of the pouches on his flak jacket for one of the keys to unlock the front door. When he stepped inside, he let out a whistle of appreciation. "The Hokage was quick to get everything set up here," he said, marveling at the interior.

Kurenai answered with the obvious: "It would have been given top priority as a mission, even though it would only be classed as a D-rank."

Iruka ignored Kurenai and looked around for a few minutes to inspect the rest of the apartment before turning back to the children to give them a brief overview. "There should be plenty of space here for you to store all of your necessities and then some. The kitchen and living areas are more than large enough for the two of you, and you each have your own separate bedroom and bathroom. It shouldn't be difficult for you to work out arrangements from there," he stated, slightly embarrassed to be discussing such things in the presence of a young lady.

"Well then. Since everything is in place, I guess the two of you will be fine for the afternoon!" Kurenai announced after a brief awkward silence.

"Wait, what?!" Naruto shouted.

"Calm down, Naruto. No one said you have to spend the whole day inside the apartment," Iruka said. "However, if you do leave by yourself, you will be required to return by no later than eighteen hundred hours, so that I can check in on you after I get off work. You will not be allowed to leave the apartment after that time without being accompanied by either myself or a jōnin."

"So now I have a curfew?"

"You're damn right you do," Kurenai said harshly. "And it is Hinata's responsibility to inform us when you break curfew."

"This is bullshit!"

"Deal with it! You brought this on yourself, Naruto. And don't even try to get Hinata to cover for you, got it?" Naruto's only response was to growl at Kurenai, refusing to acknowledge her orders.

"If you are done misbehaving, Naruto, we'll be leaving now," Iruka said while glaring at the blond. "We will have to stop by the Hokage's office later and thank him for doing this, and by we, I mean you. And don't forget to look after Hinata while we're away. If she needs any help with anything, it's your responsibility to help her. Understood?"

"Whatever…" Naruto muttered under his breath. He had already decided there was no way in hell he would thank the old man for putting him and Hinata through this.

"Um…excuse me, Iruka-sensei, but where are the rest of my clothes?" Hinata spoke up. Apparently Iruka had not noticed while he was preoccupied with Naruto that she was using her Byakugan to scan the apartment.

"Hm. Oh, I'm afraid we weren't able to bring much," Iruka explained to Hinata. "The Hyūga elders insisted that we leave many of the outfits in the compound as property of the Clan. However, you should have been provided with enough clothes to last for a few days before you need to go shopping. Everything should be in your dresser."

Hinata nodded mutely in acknowledgment, temporarily stunned. _Of course I expected something like this, being disowned, but to not even be able to keep any of my clothes…_

The young woman was reeling from this development. If the Hyūga kept her clothes, then that likely meant that all of her formal kimonos were lost. The clothing itself was no great loss; Hinata wasn't fond of most of the traditional outfits her clan insisted on donning, well, aside from one particular kimono that was colored magenta and was given to her by her late mother as a birthday present. It was one of the few keepsakes Hinata had of her mother, but the Clan wouldn't let her keep it or any others. _One more thing lost,_ the young woman lamented.

Iruka gave Kurenai a concerned look, then shook his head and walked out the door. The jōnin gave that same look to the kids before bowing slightly to them and making her own exit.

* * *

It was painfully quiet in the apartment.

Naruto could not bring himself to look at Hinata; each time he stole a glance at her—and the act of glancing at her was itself never a conscious decision—he flinched away, unable to bear the sight of what he had done. Each time he turned away from her, he heard her sigh, feeling she had to be getting frustrated with him. He hoped this meant she would give up on him soon and leave him to his fate.

Naruto walked into the kitchen and performed his own inspection. He was not surprised at all to see that the cabinets and fridge were both completely empty aside from his supply of instant ramen noodles that had been moved here from his old apartment. During his inspection, he stole another glance at Hinata and noticed her frowning. He assumed she was disappointed by the lack of basic necessities and decided to comment on it, intending to push her further away.

"What did you expect? Even if there was any other food here, it would have expired weeks ago," Naruto grumbled, trying to intimidate Hinata through revealing selective details of his miserable life.

Hinata felt like the whole world, or at least Konoha, was conspiring against her. What was the point of giving her this mission to heal Naruto's broken heart if they were intent on breaking hers beyond repair first? What was the point of any of this? She had done what she had to try and save Naruto; to help show him that someone cared. She wanted him to know that he mattered, especially to her…

But now?

Her family had disowned her, she was stuck in a wheelchair, she had nowhere to go, nothing to her name. And worst of all? Naruto-kun, her most important person hated her, even more than her father did. Is that what was wrong with her? Was she too weak to deserve the kindness of others? Was she always meant to remain a—

_No,_ Hinata snapped herself out of that line of thought before it could reach its conclusion. _I cannot let myself think like that, not when Naruto-kun needs me to be strong for him,_ she reminded herself. _I cannot be a burden to Naruto-kun. Nor can I share my burdens with him until he shares his with me,_ she concluded, unaware of the grief the last part of that conclusion would cause her later. She moved the joystick on the wheelchair left, then forward, to roll her way past Naruto and towards the front door, then pushed it left again until she was looking at Naruto again.

"Um…would you like to go shopping with me, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked with a renewed, albeit weary smile. Naruto's bewildered expression made it clear her response was the last thing he had expected.

_Why do you keep looking at me like that?_ Naruto asked himself, unable to do anything besides stare at her in confusion. It was so odd. Sure, Iruka sometimes looked at him warmly, when he wasn't boring him to death with lectures or punishing him for pranks. Teuchi-occhan and Ayame-nēchan also gave him smiles and kind words when he was around their shop. But this was different. Hinata's gaze was filled with both warmth and hope…

…and something else he couldn't describe. Something he hadn't seen before. _Except for that day,_ Naruto realized. _She was looking at me like that the day I jumped too…_

It was almost enough to make him reconsider this whole thing, but every time he would almost relax, he would see her, stuck in that chair, broken and without a family because of him. The knots in his stomach and vice in his chest were always quick to return; squeezing his insides to wring out every last drop of guilt and shame.

"You really don't get it," Naruto muttered as he trudged towards the front door. Hinata chose to pretend he hadn't said that.

"Don't you ever go grocery shopping when you're out and about?"

"Why does it matter? Besides, don't you already know everything about me anyway?"

"Just because I followed you every few months when life at my old home grew worse doesn't mean I know everything about you, Naruto," Hinata almost, but not quite, snapped at Naruto. "Now answer my question," she added, taking a firm tone with him. She didn't want to take this tone with Naruto, but his continued efforts to force her out of his life left her with very few options. "Iruka-sensei said it is your responsibility to help me, and right now, the best way you can help me is to talk to me."

Naruto clenched his fists and turned his back to Hinata. She still didn't understand that asking anything of him was asking too much. He'd already told her that he had nothing left to give anyone but his own misery. But she still saw something in him that just wasn't there. He wasn't sure what it was, this supposed ideal version of him that she saw. He wasn't a hero. He wasn't strong or noble, not smart or good looking. He was certainly no Sasuke, seemingly good at everything he did.

He was just _tired._

Hell, he couldn't even kill himself properly without dragging one of the few people that had ever shown him kindness down with him. Literally.

_This is my fault,_ the boy thought bitterly, maudlin spiral continuing. _All of her pain is because of me._

And that was why he needed to make sure Hinata gave up on him and left. As bad as her situation was now, if she insisted on staying with him, she would only prove him right that everyone and everything he got involved with was ruined simply by him existing. He was still certain someone else would take Hinata in and be better for her than he ever could, despite her having ever associated with him.

"No," Naruto said reluctantly, knowing that she would still react the opposite way he wanted to anything he said. "I don't buy much food. Usually I just get bread, butter, milk and ramen, but mostly ramen."

Hinata frowned at the lack of variety in Naruto's diet. "When was the last time you ate anything besides instant ramen or hospital food?"

"Well, Iruka-sensei made me breakfast before he brought me here. He tried making toast first but he burned it, so he just had me eat some pork rice that he put in the microwave from the freezer."

"That isn't much better than ramen…"

"Geez, Hinata! You're really picky, y'know? What do you want from me?"

Hinata sighed at Naruto's annoyed tone towards her, but shrugged it off and reached out towards him with her left arm. "I want you to go shopping with me, Naruto-kun," she said insistently, smiling at him. "If that's okay with you, that is," she added, rather unnecessarily since the look on Naruto's face was one of recognition. Seeing that while she was trying to be kind to him, she was not going to take no for an answer.

"Alright," Naruto said, "but only because Iruka-sensei will get really mad at me if I let you go out by yourself."

"Then let's go."

Naruto pulled his hand away from Hinata and pushed her back slightly so he could open the door. "I hope you're not expecting me to pay for anything right now. I'm flat broke."

"It's fine, Naruto-kun. Kurenai-sensei gave me enough ryō to get everything we need. And given our present situation, we would have to only buy food that's simple to prepare."

"Well, if you say so," Naruto said as Hinata rolled past the door and he shut it behind them. "Just…let me decide where we go, okay? There aren't a lot of shops that'll let me in." Hinata nodded, but her heart broke just a little more at this reminder of how much Naruto had suffered.

* * *

The painful silence followed the duo out of the apartment as they made their way to the markets. Hinata would try several times to point out a shop, asking if that one or this one was okay. Naruto would look up, grunt, and shake his head, much like an irritated pet, before staring forward and moving stiff-backed through the crowds like a windup toy.

Hinata stopped asking after the fifth time, merely following along in her chair as Naruto led them through the twists and turns of the streets to a somewhat poorer section of the markets. The sight here was…certainly different. Many of the buildings looked as though they could use a fresh coat of paint, or a new roof. Some didn't even appear to have lights, but they all had one thing in common: they were the kind of place in which her former clan would never allow themselves to be seen.

Eventually, the silence became too much, and Hinata just had to try to break it again.

"Naruto-kun?"

A grunt.

"Why are we shopping here?"

The boy let out a hissing breath that sounded almost painful, like a deflating balloon. "You said you want stuff other than ramen, yeah?"

"Um…y-yes." Her voice firmed as she reminded herself of her mission. "Yes. Your nutrition is very important."

Another grunt preceded Naruto's reply. "There's an old lady that runs one of the grocery stores here. She treats me fair. At the start of each week, she gets some good fruits and vegetables in. And she has these bento meals that she buys from one of the restaurants a few streets over when they have extra, sells them at a discount. They have veggies 'n stuff. And all you have to do is microwave them."

"Oh. I see." Hinata smiled. "That was good thinking, Naruto-kun!" She couldn't stop herself from smiling at him, despite the fact that he couldn't see it.

The smile was short lived, however, because she almost ran into him with her chair. The blonde had stopped suddenly, the coiled springiness of his muscles that he had carried since they had left the house was now even more pronounced, but when he finally spoke, the tone was lighter, not as forced. Almost warm.

"Yeah. Let's just go, it's not far."

Encouraged by his response, Hinata decided to push her luck, hoping to ask about something else that concerned her since they started this trip.

"Naruto-kun, why won't the shops let you in?"

It was the wrong thing to say.

Suddenly the boy rounded on her, finally ready to release the tension he had been carrying since they had departed. Hinata was certain that he would shout at her again, maybe rage and curse. She even thought for a moment that he may just bolt, leaving her here in this dilapidated, alien world.

Surprisingly, he did none of those things.

As suddenly as it had appeared, the tension left him with one explosive breath, and Naruto refused to meet her eyes, instead staring at the ground as though it held the secrets of the Fourth Hokage.

"I don't know, okay? I wonder sometimes…but I stopped asking questions a long time ago. It…doesn't change anything." His tone was as reserved and subdued as his posture, a kicked dog resigned to the abuse.

It was clear from his words that he meant more than just grocery shopping, and Hinata's frown deepened as another part of the mystery was revealed to her, even if it wasn't the answer she wanted.

The boy turned suddenly, posture now casual, muscles relaxed, but his voice was so quiet, Hinata had to strain to hear it, despite the fact that they were the only ones on the street. "Asking questions is pointless. You just don't understand…"

After that, there was another period of awkward silence. Naruto had his arms behind his head as if he were relaxing as he walked behind Hinata. Feeling satisfied that she couldn't see his expression, he frowned again. But much to his misfortune, Hinata seemed to know what he was thinking anyway and called him out on having those thoughts.

"Naruto-kun, it is you who doesn't understand," Hinata suddenly said. Naruto quickly spun around to face her.

"What's this all of a sudden? And what do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Well, it's a little presumptuous of you to think I only ended up like this because of something you did," she commented.

"Well of course it's my fault you're hurt! I'm the one who jumped!" Naruto yelled. The awkward tension that had been building up all morning had finally reached its max.

"That might be true, but—"

"And why do you care anyway?" Naruto continued yelling, pressing his palms against the arms of Hinata's wheelchair. "What kinda insane person jumps after a worthless good for nothing piece of—"

_Smack!_

The sound of a slap echoed throughout the deserted street corner and Naruto felt the sting last for several moments. All he could do was look as Hinata in bewilderment and shock. He had not expected that kind of reaction from her at all. But his shock quickly faded and he grinned, believing he had finally pushed Hinata too far to put up with him anymore. "See! Even you think so too, don't you?"

Hinata grabbed the collar of Naruto's tracksuit to pull him towards her, looking directly into his eyes. It was only then Naruto caught a glimpse of the tears forming in her eyes. Naruto couldn't understand why she was about to cry, though. Wasn't she angry with him? "Listen to me, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, her voice starting to crack. "The only way this living arrangement is going to work is if you let go of the negative views you have of yourself. That's exactly why I told you that you were being presumptuous."

"Then why the hell did you stop me?" Naruto growled. "Do you just want to watch me live in suffering? Or maybe you think you can take advantage of me somehow?"

"I don't know, okay?!" Hinata finally yelled, releasing her grip on Naruto. The blond took several steps back and was left stunned by her answer and stopped trying to provoke her. "My memories of that night are still a little hazy. But even _if_ I wanted to let you fall, I couldn't. When I saw you were about to fall to your death, my body just moved on its own."

Naruto sighed. "It figures…"

"But the reason I saved you that night doesn't matter," Hinata said firmly.

"Come again?" Naruto asked.

"I said the reason doesn't matter. Don't you remember? You taught me that when we first met."

"Oh…" Naruto realized what she was saying as the memory began coming back to him. It was a bit fuzzy but he did clearly remember saying those words to Hinata on their first meeting. "Yeah, well, I said a lot of things back then…that doesn't mean they were worth anything…" he said with a sigh.

"That's not true. You may not believe those words were ever worth anything to you, but they have always been worth everything to me."

"Hinata…" Naruto said, unsure of what else to say. She looked so sad and Naruto realized that as much as she was hurting from his situation, all he was doing to her was deliberately causing her more pain. "Look, I'm sorry I yelled, okay? Can we just get what we need and go back?"

Hinata wiped her eyes and nodded. "Yes."

The two once again continued to walk in silence. But Naruto couldn't get the words Hinata had said out of his mind. _You may not believe those words were ever worth anything to you, but they have always been worth everything to me._ Now that was a first. Someone believing in something he had said that he was no longer sure he believed himself. It made Naruto want to look at and treat Hinata differently. But could he? And if he did treat her differently, what would that look like? He wasn't quite sure how he should react around Hinata and the worst part was they were just starting to get to know one another.

Suddenly, he stopped yet again. His spine stiffened as he came to another important realization, and his mind finally began listening to his heart to form a resolution.

_I have to fix this. I owe her that much. And when she's better…when she's better, I'll…_ Naruto ended that train of thought abruptly. There was no need to focus on that now. He had a mission, his first real mission; no matter how much it hurt to talk to her, to look at her and be reminded of his failures, of how awful he truly was, he was going to help Hinata get better.

And he decided the best way to start was to tell Hinata something she deserved to hear.

"Hey, Hinata?"

Hinata turned her head and looked at Naruto, "Yes, Naruto-kun?"

"…Thank you…"

Once the show of gratitude escaped Naruto's mouth, he quickly turned his face away. Hinata was surprised but then she smiled and laughed softly. "You're welcome, Naruto-kun."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well...this is the end of the story's first arc. The next arc will focus on how Naruto and Hinata adjust to their new living arrangements and take the first small steps to beginning the healing process. But things still have to get worse for them before they can start to get better.
> 
> This chapter was written during a very difficult period in my life. If you read it on FF before I posted here, you know what happened. If not, I'm not reposting the A/N here.
> 
> Those of you who haven't read this already will be wondering why Kurenai is so harsh on the children. My co-author normally doesn't provide commentary, but this particular issue was different. His stance is that Kurenai is telling Naruto and Hinata what she believes they need to hear, and that she currently feels being gentle with them will not help them.


	7. The Sound of Chaos

Sasuke Uchiha was brooding inside his apartment as he contemplated the events of the past week. He understood very well how one's situation could change for the worst in an instant. _That night_ drove that lesson home. Despite internalizing that lesson, he was still unprepared for the shock of what had happened last week. He had gone from being the top student of his class to being dropped from the program completely.

In many ways, it felt just like _that night_ all over again. A night Inoichi was forcing him to relive via those accursed therapy sessions.

Those sessions were just one of the conditions of Sasuke's probation that really unnerved him. The condition that ate at him the most was that he was restricted in the amount of training he was allowed to perform. Inoichi had tried to explain that it was a compromise, that this condition was originally supposed to be worse—that his chakra was supposed to be sealed until his probation ended. Why didn't they understand that making him weaker was the last thing he needed? Sasuke needed to be stronger. If he had been stronger…

_If I had been stronger, none of this would have happened,_ he thought bitterly. _My clan would still be alive, I would have graduated early and not been involved in…_

That last thought made him pause. He was no longer sure how to feel about the incident involving his would-have-been teammates. Try as he might, and for him trying was normally not difficult, he could not bring himself to feel much in the way of hatred or contempt towards Sakura for her actions last week, and remained mostly apathetic. All of the kunoichi in this class were useless; even those who had actually focused on their training were more focused on the delusional belief that they could win his heart, unable to see that _that man_ had killed it four and a half years ago. They would only be a distraction, would only hold him back. They were nothing more than an annoyance. A particularly disgusting annoyance in Sakura's case, but an annoyance all the same.

Naruto, on the other hand…

Sasuke would have preferred to be apathetic towards the suicidal blond idiot. Yet he found himself empathizing with that idiot's plight. Naruto was the only other person in their class who truly understood the pain of loneliness. Even so, Naruto had never had anyone in his life to lose, so there was no way he could understand Sasuke's pain.

At that thought, the memory of his encounter with Inoichi the day after Naruto's suicide attempt forced itself to the front of his mind.

_"Earlier, I said that there was a strong chance you would be so consumed by revenge that you would become just like your brother. If that doesn't happen, I can promise you this. If you follow your current path and succeed in killing Itachi without becoming Itachi, you will be left just as empty inside as Naruto is now. You will have lost your purpose in life just as Naruto believes he has lost his, and you will seek to take your own life just as Naruto tried to take his."_

Sasuke admitted to himself that there were times right after _that man_ killed off the rest of his clan that he had considered taking his own life and ending the pain. But as much as his guilt from surviving that night weighed down on him, he could not bring himself to do it. Not when his dead family was still crying out for justice from beyond the grave. Not when he had been designated by their slayer to deliver that justice.

And in order to see justice served, he needed to make Inoichi and the Hokage realize that they had to stop denying him power.

It was then that Sasuke heard a tapping noise on his back door. He looked out the glass panel to see a young man, barely old enough to be an adult, with ash-grey hair and black-framed glasses and wearing a dark purple high-collared sleeveless shirt and matching pants. Sasuke did not often get visitors, and those who did show up normally came through the front door. This made him put his guard up as he slowly approached the door.

"Who are you?" Sasuke demanded of the visitor.

"All of your questions will be answered in due time. But first, would you mind letting me in?" the visitor asked in reply.

Sasuke did not like the idea of letting this stranger into his home. However, there was something about him that held his curiosity, and he found himself opening the door, almost involuntarily, to grant the stranger entrance. "Hold on," he said as the door opened. "You don't need to tell me your name yet, but you do need to tell me why you're here."

"Straight to business then, eh? That's good, because we don't have time for small talk right now." The young man chuckled as he walked into Sasuke's bedroom. "I am here because I know of a way to get you the power you seek, Uchiha Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke was now on high alert. He reached into his ninja tool pouch with his left hand to grab several shuriken. "I'm not in the mood for jokes. I suggest you get lost before the Anbu watching me deals with you." Not even one second after Sasuke made that threat, a body fell off his roof and made a loud thud as it hit the ground.

"You mean him?" the stranger asked. Sasuke took a few steps backward. If this man had actually killed the Anbu on surveillance, then he was much more dangerous than he looked. Also, it meant that Sasuke had no choice but to hear him out. "I'll have to leave soon, but it would really be a big problem for me to do it right now after all the trouble I went through to find you and have this conversation. Between the dead Anbu in your backyard and using my accomplice as bait…"

"Wait, what?" Sasuke's eyes widened at the stranger's words and the nonchalant tone in which they were spoke. "First you kill a member of the Anbu, then you say you're callous enough to use a partner as bait?"

The stranger shrugged. "He outlived his usefulness. It won't be long before the same thing happens to you if you decide to stay in this village, Sasuke-kun. You were treated as second best by your clan before they were murdered, then cast aside by your instructors and kicked out of the shinobi training program despite being the best student in your class. They chose to keep their worst student instead of you, a snotty loud-mouthed brat turned suicidal, because he happens to be a jinchūriki…"

Sasuke didn't notice the shuriken falling out of his hand. "What did you just call Naruto?" he asked.

"So you never found out on your own? I'm not surprised. Though it is the worst-kept secret in Konoha, at least among the adults. Anyway, Uzumaki Naruto-kun happens to have an immense chakra entity sealed inside of him, called the _Kyūbi no Yōko._ It's known as one of the nine _bijū._ You do remember the story of what happened the night Naruto was born twelve years ago, yes?" Sasuke slowly nodded his head. "Didn't you ever wonder how the _bijū_ was stopped? You can't kill a chakra construct, Sasuke-kun. You can only seal it away, provided you have a strong enough container." The stranger smirked as Sasuke's eyes widened further with understanding. "That's right. Yondaime sealed the _bijū_ inside of Naruto-kun."

Sasuke had now completely dropped his guard. This new information about the blond explained far too much. About why he was ostracized, why he had cried out for attention for the entire time they spent at the Academy, and why he broke and became convinced that death was preferable to living. "All this time…" he quietly muttered.

"And it's the same reason he was allowed to stay in the program while you were dismissed. Naruto's status makes him invaluable to Konoha, while you, the last scion of this village's most powerful clan, are considered defective and expendable. Naruto already has unimaginable power, just waiting for him to be given the means to access. And you are more or less powerless. How is that fair, Sasuke-kun?" The stranger played to his clan's pride, to tremendous effect.

Sasuke realized then that this young man had brought up points he could not dismiss. He, the Last Loyal Uchiha, had been praised constantly by most of his peers over the past few years, while those very same peers shunned Naruto. And yet the terrible fate the dead last suffered at birth was now the reason he would advance and realize power, while Sasuke's own trauma was used to hold him back. How was this fair, indeed?

"Now you need to tell me your name," Sasuke said, much to the stranger's delight.

"Yakushi Kabuto. Now shall we go? In another minute or so, there will be a large explosion towards the center of the village. But it won't be long before they realize that it's just a diversion."

Sasuke turned his head back briefly to do a runover of his apartment, and quickly decided there was nothing of any practical or sentimental value here. Nothing to keep him attached to this village. His only loyalty was to his dead clan and the justice they deserved, and if serving justice to _that man_ meant going rogue and turning his back on the village that let his clan die, so be it.

"Let's go."

* * *

The past ten days had been nothing short of unbearable for Mizuki as he watched all of his plans go down the drain. It all started with the day of the Academy's final exams. Naruto, the Nine-Tails Child, was supposed to fail that exam like he had failed almost every other exam. Had that happened as it was supposed to, Mizuki would have gleefully tricked the Nine-Tails into stealing the Scroll of Seals for him so that he could deliver the scroll to Orochimaru—after killing the Nine-Tails, of course. But that was not what happened. That damned demon brat had decided to reveal that he had learned the  Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, leaving Iruka no choice but to let him graduate.

From there, things grew worse. Yesterday, Mizuki had learned that Naruto spent the next five days after the graduation ceremony in the hospital recovering from serious injuries and that upon being released from the hospital, he was relocated to a new apartment and given a roommate. Mizuki really wanted to finish what had been started that landed Naruto in the hospital and to also kill his roommate, the recently disowned Hinata; giving her corpse, or at least her Byakugan over to Orochimaru to play with along with the Scroll would have given him a nice bonus. And if it had only been Iruka and the Anbu who were watching over them at their new apartment, he would have taken the risk and gone after them. But the Hokage had seen fit to assign none other than the infamous Kakashi of the Sharingan, the demon brat's new instructor, as an additional caretaker/bodyguard, effectively making the brat unassailable.

And then this morning, he received a warning from one of Orochimaru's spies inside Konoha, _iryō-nin_  Kabuto Yakushi.

"Orochimaru-sama is growing impatient with you, Mizuki-kun," Kabuto had said. "You have taken far too long to carry out the task he has given."

"That snake demands the impossible!" Mizuki had shot back. "There's too many guards around both the Scroll and the Nine-Tails after what happened last week!"

"Then today's your lucky day." Kabuto had paused to adjust his glasses, causing them to show a wicked glint. "Recent events have forced me to blow my cover and flee with something else Orochimaru-sama desires. I will take care of the guards around the Scroll of Seals and create an additional distraction. Once I have done so, get the Scroll and get out of this village, and don't even think about going after Naruto-kun or his roommate on your way out."

Mizuki had glowered, but reluctantly acknowledged the command. He would have loved to put Kabuto in his place, but had realized a while ago—quite painfully—that he lacked the power. Power that would only be provided by Orochimaru once the Scroll of Seals and all the forbidden knowledge it contained was in his possession.

The one and only bright spot? Kabuto made good on his word. A large explosion was Mizuki's cue to act. When he arrived at the Hokage Residence, Mizuki found that all of the Anbu present had been rendered unconscious by a genjutsu. Retrieving the Scroll of Seals was as simple as just stepping over their bodies as he walked in and out.

Currently, Mizuki was in the forest outside Konoha, having managed to escape detection thus far. During his flight, his mood had managed to grow even fouler, as he briefly noticed what appeared to be a four-man Anbu unit and a female jōnin heading in the direction of Naruto's new apartment. If going after Naruto tonight hadn't been impossible before Kabuto's warning, it was certainly impossible now.

Growing increasingly paranoid with the increased Anbu presence throughout the surrounding area, Mizuki decided to resort to one of the more effective stealth techniques developed since the formation of the hidden shinobi villages:  Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu. With a few quick gestures, Mizuki was swallowed up by the ground, disappearing into it as though it had liquefied, and slowly made his way further from the village. He was fairly confident in his ability to lose his pursuers, so much so that he surfaced a few times to avoid pipelines, the odd deep root system, and a particularly angry mole that did not seem to appreciate him stealing its shtick.

His hopes for a stealthy getaway were dashed by the sound of movement when he surfaced for the third time. Mizuki tried to make a run for it, but found that he was unable to move at all. He looked down to see a black ink spiral pattern formed around his feet, and cursed under his breath; instead of throwing his pursuers off his trail, he had given at least one of them enough time to set up a trap.

He cursed again when the pursuer who caught him began speaking from behind him.

"I should have known you would pull something like this," the accusing voice came from none other than his co-worker and "friend", Iruka. Being unable to look behind himself, Mizuki could not see how Iruka was trying not to let his voice show the feelings of shock and betrayal written in his eyes. Still, Mizuki found himself laughing briefly at the ridiculousness of this situation as he started struggling to break free from the technique Iruka used to capture him.

"So you finally figured out it was all a sham, Iruka." Mizuki did his best to convey as much scorn and condescension into his tone since he couldn't give his former colleague a proper glare like he wanted. Which was a shame, since he had grown so good at it since the last time he murdered a comrade.

"Why, Mizuki?! Why are you doing this? What do you stand to gain from all of this? What could possibly be worth betraying our village for?"

Mizuki scoffed, voice dripping poison as Iruka gave him a target to vent his years of frustration. _"Why?_ This village has grown too soft. It's lost its appreciation for what matters: power, and how it should be used…"

Iruka's reply conveyed his incredulity. "So what, you're just doing this for more jutsu? Because they won't make you a jōnin?"

Mizuki sneered, though it was again wasted by his inability to face his target. "Not _just_ jutsu, you fool. Raw strength. Something everyone here seems to have forgotten since Yondaime died twelve years ago. Everyone, that is, except me…"

"What the hell do you mean, traitor?!"

"I mean it was supposed to be the Nine-Tails Child here tonight instead of me! He should have been the one stealing the Scroll! Setting it up would've been too easy! All that demon brat needed to do was fail the final exam, so that I could trick him by offering a make-up test. He then steals the scroll, meets me in the forest, and I finish the work Yondaime started…"

Iruka paled considerably. "Y-you don't mean…"

Mizuki began to laugh uncontrollably, sounding more than slightly manic. "Let me spell it out for you, moron. I was going to kill that demon in human skin once and for all and deliver his corpse to my master. But he's too well protected right now. It just means I'll have to come back later and finish the job."

"You bastard! I won't let you!"

"Oh? And how do you plan to stop me, Iruka? I've always been stronger than you. And there's no way that failure and the disgraced Hyūga vixen who's keeping him company can stand up to me. Nothing will stop me from coming back here and making the demon experience the suffering he inflicted upon Konoha! And you know, I think I'll start with his vixen. Make it nice and slow…"

Mizuki couldn't see Iruka's reaction to his speech, but the stunned silence spoke for itself. Iruka's lack of focus would cost him everything. Mizuki could already feel the bindings weakening. He clenched his fists, preparing to strike back. Just a little more, and…

_There!_

With another bout of maniacal laughter, Mizuki broke free from Iruka's  Isshi Tōjin and stretched like a cat as he leisurely turned to face his colleague. "Actually, I'll start with you, Iruka. Can't let you live after what I've told you, after all. You'll be a good warm up for when I come back to put on the main event!"

He wasted no time after that in rushing Iruka, kunai already in his hand. His opponent was caught flat-footed, barely bringing up his own kunai to block the initial strike. Mizuki gave him another sneer, glad he was finally able to convey to Iruka exactly what he thought of him. He grabbed another kunai from his pouch, dual-wielding a slow, lazy dance of death as he broke Iruka's defensive stance.

Mizuki scored several shallow hits, but deliberately missed the vital points. He was going to take his time and enjoy this to its fullest extent. He was the predator, and Iruka his cornered prey. But that was when he made his next mistake: forgetting that the prey fought its hardest when it was backed into a corner.

He was suddenly assaulted by a bright light, failing to notice the flash bomb Iruka threw to the ground as he was forced backward. He paid for his hubris when his opponent used his temporary blindness to score a series of strikes to his abdomen. Luckily, none were able to fully penetrate the thick coating of his chūnin flak jacket or the underlying mesh armor.

Mizuki regained his sight to be greeted with nothing. Iruka had disappeared into the trees. _This is fine,_ he thought. _Just gives me more reason to enjoy the hunt._ He took to the trees, stretching his senses to the limit as he pursued his target. It was a brief pursuit, as Mizuki quickly spotted a few drops of blood on one of the leaves of the tree branch he landed on, roughly one hundred meters away from the initial clash. _Looks like one of my attacks cut deeper than I thought,_ he mused.

Landing on the ground, Mizuki followed the trail of blood, stalking towards his prey. "Isn't this fun, Iruka! It's almost like when we used to play ninja back at the orphanage!" With that thought, he reached down to his thigh to unclip one of the ninja tools Kabuto handed over during their meeting earlier today: a fūma shuriken. He then paused to take in his surroundings, checking for any reactions his target might have had to his taunts. Suddenly, he heard the unmistakable sound of displaced air as several kunai flew towards him. With one fluid motion, Mizuki brought up the still-folded shuriken and easily deflected the projectiles.

"Ah, there you are, Iruka! Just when I was beginning to think I wouldn't get to play with my new toy tonight! Do you like it? It's just the first of many gifts I'll be receiving from my master!" Mizuki cackled as Iruka came out from behind the tree he was using as cover, moving slowly as he put pressure on his left shoulder with his hand to staunch the bleeding. He was also sporting several deep cuts spread across all four limbs.

_So pathetic. One little exchange and he's already this run down? Time to put this runt out of my misery…_

Mizuki gave his former coworker a deranged grin as he unfolded his shuriken with a deft flick of the wrist. "I feel like you'll be able to really appreciate my new favorite weapon once you know more about it. You _do_ like learning, after all. So let me give you a closer look…!"

Mizuki's throw was textbook. His stance was firm. He used the energy from his core, and twisted with his hips as he launched the shuriken. Given the range, and Iruka's injuries, the conclusion was assured.

Iruka was going to die here.

So of course the sudden blur of white and the halting of his weapon in mid-flight was understandably unexpected.

But what was even _more_ unexpected was who was now holding the weapon.

Mizuki couldn't believe his eyes. The fūma shuriken he had thrown to finish off Iruka had just been caught by the _Third Hokage._

Part of his mind realized then that he was already dead.

The rest of him tried to make a run for it.

He wouldn't get very far.

"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Hiruzen shouted after throwing the fūma shuriken back at Mizuki and rapidly flowing through hand signs to turn the one fūma shuriken into hundreds. Within seconds, Mizuki was pinned face-first to the ground. All of his limbs had been pierced by copies of his own weapon. He also took several deep cuts along his limbs and sides from other duplicates, while the original shuriken penetrated his armor and was lodged in his lower back.

Mizuki lost consciousness before he could hear the distinctive noise which signaled the dispelling of a _bunshinjutsu_ , and thus never realized that the Hokage had not shown up in person, but merely sent a shadow clone after him.

* * *

Until a few minutes ago, Kurenai Yūhi's day had been perfectly normal, or as normal as it could be for one of the few women of Konohagakure who ranked as an elite jōnin.

She had just finished meeting with Tsume Inuzuka and Shibi Aburame regarding their children's future in the shinobi training program after last week's incident with Hinata. Prior to that, she checked in on Hinata and Naruto and found that the Uzumaki boy was behaving almost unreasonably well since moving into their new apartment yesterday. She was still aggravated by how the Hyūga Clan had chosen to handle their end of the situation, but was forced to let the matter drop. All in all, it was just business as usual in Konoha.

It was when she was a couple of blocks away from her favorite _izakaya,_ planning on getting drunk before returning to her apartment, that her day went to shit, courtesy of an explosion.

Kurenai was immediately halted in her tracks when the explosion happened, but recovered a split-second later. She judged that the explosion had taken place less than ten blocks from her current position. But the center of the village should have been safe, since most of the Great Nations were in peacetime. She quickly turned around to locate the source of the explosion, and in doing so, felt a certain dread that she had not felt since the night the _Nine-Tailed Demon Fox_  attacked.

The explosion had come from the Hokage Residence.

Kurenai's dread grew as she raced towards the mansion. While she was by no means religious, she found herself uttering silent prayers that the Third had not been present there to fall victim to a possible assassination attempt. She completed the dash to the mansion in under thirty seconds, and upon arriving at the scene, was joined by Kakashi, who gave her a brief nod as they examined the damage to the mansion from outside.

Smoke was everywhere around the ground level of the mansion, and all of the windows had been shattered, glass fragments scattered across the ground. The front door had been blown off as well and was resting in the nearest tree.

But that appeared to be the complete extent of the damage.

Kurenai was unnerved as she glanced at Kakashi, asking for his orders; as a former Anbu captain, Kakashi Hatake was the highest-ranked and most experienced officer currently present. Kakashi lifted up his _hitai-ate_ , uncovering his implanted Sharingan, and made a pair of hand gestures to tell Kurenai that they would proceed into the main tower of the mansion cautiously, with him taking point. Kurenai nodded once and crept inside, following her fellow elite jōnin's lead.

Confusion quickly entered their minds as the two examined the interior of the mansion, starting with the foyer. Kurenai briefly considered the thought that this may have been a prank from Naruto that backfired spectacularly, but dismissed it quickly. Naruto was not in the right mindset to devise any pranks, and if this had been a prank, it would have needed to happen several years ago, back when he was more vindictive.

The body trail they were following also made it clear that this was not the result of a prank. There were several Anbu lying prone on the floor throughout the mansion. Most of them were merely unconscious, which Kurenai noticed was due to the effects of a genjutsu. She fell behind to release the genjutsu on them while Kakashi continued on to the main dining hall and found remains of a bomb, bearing a seal he didn't recognize, along with a dead Anbu whose light armor had been torn to shreds by several pieces of shrapnel.

The Anbu in the dining hall wasn't the only corpse he found. Kakashi ran up the stairs and threw open the doors to the master bedroom, and found another Anbu lying in a pool of his own blood, throat slit from ear to ear. He studied the scene briefly, and sighed and lowered his _hitai-ate._ Then he bit down on his right thumb and formed the Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey and Ram hand seals.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu," Kakashi whispered and slammed his right hand on the floor as Kurenai arrived at the master bedroom. A few seconds later, a small _ninken_ materialized at the spot where his hand had been.

"Yo, Kakashi," the _ninken_ spoke up. "You always summon me for work. Why can't we ever just play fetch?"

"Not now, Pakkun. We're working. Someone attacked the Hokage Residence. I need any information you can give us."

The _ninken's_ eyes widened, before his posture went rigid, and he immediately began using his nose to scout for clues. After a few moments, he struck dirt.

"Whoever they were, they were in a hurry. They got sloppy. I found a hair." Pakkun indicated the evidence with a point of his paw. Kakashi bent down, and used the tweezers he kept in his pouch for such things to gently lift the hair up for inspection.

"Does this look grey to you?" Kakashi asked, looking over his shoulder to Kurenai.

"It does. But you just got here, and even at first glance I can tell there's no way this hair belongs to the Hokage," Kurenai replied, tone crisp and business-like.

Kakashi gave her a nod of approval. "Just what I was thinking. Okay, Pakkun. You know the drill." The _ninken_ gave them a nod, before he started tracking the scent. They were led back the way they came for several blocks, before the trio found themselves outside of the Konoha General Hospital.

"A medic-nin did this?" Kurenai asked incredulously.

"Makes sense given the kind of wound we saw on the Anbu who was killed inside the Hokage's bedroom. The wound was too fine to be a kunai or regular blade. The assailant most likely used a scalpel. They either have significant medical training or acquired the materials for their attack here."

"What do we do from here, Kakashi-san?"

Kakashi paused for a moment, all of his enhanced senses screaming that he was missing something important. "Whoever did this did not intend to attack the Hokage directly. He's safe. And the location of the bomb…"

"It wasn't set in a place that would cause a lot of structural damage," Kurenai mused.

"Exactly. This was a distraction. The question is for what? Pakkun, do you have anything?"

"The scent starts here, and goes to the mansion. Then it comes back this way before going…" the dog paused for a moment, parsing through all the scents to be sure. "It goes that way…"

Kakashi felt dread pool in his stomach. Sasuke's apartment was in that direction.

"Shit.…Pakkun, search the hospital, ask around. The front desk should recognize you, so tell them what's going on and they should help. When you have more info, come find me!"

"Where are you going, Kakashi?"

"I'm going to check on Sasuke! Whoever did this may be after him!" Kakashi paused for a moment, mind flashing back to another kidnapping attempt from years earlier. There were two other high value targets near the area that needed a lot more protection than they currently had.

"Kurenai!"

"Yes, Kakashi-san?"

"I need you to take a squad of Anbu and go check on Naruto and Hinata! Keep them safe!"

Kurenai's eyes widened. _Hinata…_

With a nod, she was off, racing toward the apartment Naruto and Hinata were currently sharing. Kakashi took off in the opposite direction, dashing toward the apartment of his almost student, the Last Loyal Uchiha. He arrived only a few moments later, cautiously approaching the walk-up.

All of his training was screaming that something was terribly wrong. He could feel the tension in the air, like the build-up of his signature assassination technique, Chidori.

When he entered the apartment, he was greeted with a scene that was alarming in its normality. Some dishes were in the sink, the rooms could stand a dusting. All these things were normal. Especially considering that the tenant was an antisocial preteen that spent more time training to kill his only remaining family than on anything as mundane as housekeeping.

The scene was perfectly normal…except for the fact that the antisocial, revenge obsessed preteen was absent.

Kakashi's danger sense was blaring. This was _wrong._ That feeling doubled when his faithful summon arrived in a puff of smoke. "What do you have, Pakkun?"

"It's bad, Kakashi. This guy didn't just get his tools from the hospital. This isn't your average enemy agent. This guy _worked_ there."

Kakashi felt his dread beginning to morph into rage. _A traitor?! Worse than trash…_

"Yeah. I tracked the scent to a storage locker with the help of one of the nurses. Apparently the guy's name is Yakushi Kabuto. A talented medic-nin."

_As if this couldn't get any worse…_

"Kakashi?"

"Yes, Pakkun?"

"I smell death…"

* * *

Even though she was now right outside the Uzumaki boy's current residence and had confirmed with the  Kanchi no Jutsu that her charges were both present and unharmed, and was about to enter the apartment, Kurenai was still having trouble fighting down her panic.

Kakashi's sudden appearance next to her in a swirl of leaves didn't help matters.

"It's bad," Kakashi began without preamble. "Sasuke is missing and his Anbu guard is dead. There are no signs of struggle in the apartment. It's possible Sasuke left willingly. According to info from Pakkun, the lead suspect is one of our own, a medic named Yakushi Kabuto."

Kurenai took a moment to process this, eyes widening in disbelief. All of this had been done by a traitor? This mess was growing exponentially larger with each passing minute. "What's the plan?"

"I'm going to locate Hokage-sama and brief him on our findings. Appraise Naruto and Hinata of the situation. Once they know what's going on, I need you to meet me back at the Hokage Residence. We'll need all of our best trackers to help with the search."

Kurenai nodded, but while Kakashi vanished as abruptly as he arrived, her worries only continued to worsen.

* * *

Naruto was unable to sleep. He stared at the ceiling of his new bedroom, laying back with his arms behind his head, contemplating his current situation. He had briefly thought it was his surroundings that were to blame for his feeling unnerved, but dismissed it quickly. What was truly bothering him, what had continued to bother him since last week, was the person sleeping inside the other bedroom.

No matter how hard he tried, he could not push his thoughts of Hinata out of his mind. It wasn't the simple things she did to coax him into doing what she wanted, whether it be making small talk or running an errand like the one they ran yesterday. No, everything still led back to the night he jumped, and how badly she got herself hurt trying to stop him. Seeing her look so weak and fragile and knowing it was his fault she was so dependent on him while her body slowly healed made him feel nauseous, and he still did not know why.

_Why does this bother me so much?_ he asked himself, not for the first or last time. Hinata had made the choice to save him regardless of what happened to her, and he was slowly beginning to understand that she would not choose differently were time to be rewound back to that night. And also that she would not stand for any of his arrogant attempts to drive her away made under his slowly wavering belief that she would be better off in a world without him.

All of these thoughts, however, were quickly shoved aside by a loud explosion. Naruto jumped out of bed and rushed to his window to try to see what happened. Since he was under curfew (and that would continue grating on him), he was not allowed to step outside and get a better view, but he was able to see enough from here. And what he saw was smoke rising from the Hokage Residence.

"What the hell is going on?" Naruto whispered. But for the second time in as many minutes, his current train of thought was halted, this time by a loud thump and crash coming from the other side of the apartment. "Hinata!" he shouted, almost breaking down his own bedroom door as he ran out of the room and across the main living area to her room. "Hinata, are you okay?" he asked as he slammed her door open to find her kneeling on the floor next to her wheelchair, rubbing her head.

"I-I'm fine," Hinata said groggily. "I was awakened by a loud noise and it shocked me so much that I fell right out of bed."

"Yeah, right onto your chair," Naruto replied, pointing out that the wheelchair had been knocked over. "Well, that explains the crashing noise, I guess."

Hinata nodded. "What was that? It sounded like there was an explosion somewhere."

Naruto's face turned sullen as he explained, "Well, I checked right before you fell and saw smoke coming from the old man's mansion."

Hinata gasped and stammered, "W-W-What?"

"I don't know what's going on. But right now, we need to get you off the floor." Naruto picked up the chair and carefully lifted Hinata into it. Hinata couldn't help but blush slightly from the physical contact.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun. But what are we supposed to do? If someone is attacking the village—"

Hinata didn't get to finish her sentence before the front door opened. She and Naruto braced themselves as they heard footsteps, and did not relax when Kurenai appeared in front of them a few seconds later. Kurenai's deathly serious expression forced them both to swallow their first impulse to bombard her with questions. Even the usually socially inept Naruto recognized that now was _not_ the time to run off at the mouth.

"Hinata, Naruto, are you two alright?" Kurenai asked, pausing for their reply which came in the form of two bewildered, hesitant nods. "Good. That explosion you heard a few minutes ago came from the Hokage Residence. Several Anbu were found dead or unconscious, but their wounds were inflicted before the explosion, and no one else was injured. There are additional Anbu on the scene now."

"Is the old man okay?" Naruto piped up.

Kurenai gave him a flat stare, glaring for a moment at his disrespect. "As I said, Naruto, the Hokage is uninjured. The explosion only caused minimal damage to the mansion. It has been determined that it was merely a distraction for another incident elsewhere in the village."

"W-What incident, Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata asked.

Kurenai took a deep breath, steeling her nerves for this next part. "One of the Anbu assigned to watch Uchiha Sasuke was found murdered outside Sasuke's apartment. The wounds indicate that he was killed by a chakra scalpel. Based on the scene picked up by the Inuzuka trackers and where it led them, we believe the perpetrator to be one Yakushi Kabuto, a medic-nin and, as we now know, a spy."

The two children stared at her in disbelief. Someone had just attacked the village? Someone who was supposed to be a loyal Konoha shinobi? They were still young enough that the thought of one of their own turning traitor was difficult to comprehend.

"That's not the worst news, I'm afraid," Kurenai continued.

"It gets _worse?"_ Naruto declared incredulously.

"Yes. We believe Sasuke was the primary target of the attack. Based upon evidence found at the scene, we can only conclude that Sasuke went with the rogue ninja willingly. His motives remain unclear, but we have retrieval squads in pursuit. As for the two of you, you're still under curfew. Unless there is another emergency that requires you to leave, you are not to leave this apartment until Iruka comes by in the morning. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Kurenai-sensei," Hinata answered for the both of them after seeing that Naruto had been rendered eerily silent by the information Kurenai gave them regarding the incident. Kurenai gave them a skeptical look for a few seconds before nodding and taking her leave.

Naruto didn't know how to describe this new feeling as he struggled to process what Kurenai said, or even if he should be feeling this way. He was stunned speechless, but stunned wasn't how he would describe it; that seemed too…inadequate. But here he was, trapped in this apartment, while his former classmate and one-sided rival had just left the village altogether. Worse, if Kurenai was to be believed, Sasuke had left of his own volition.

"What the hell is he thinking?" Naruto gritted out, clenching his fists. He stomped towards the door and threw on his tracksuit and sandals, ready to bolt and go after Sasuke.

"What are you doing, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. Predictably, she had followed behind him, intending to make him stop.

"What's it look like? I'm gonna find that bastard and drag his sorry ass back here."

Hinata quickly realized that had been a pointless question. The moment Kurenai arrived to inform them of the situation, she had a feeling that Naruto would try to pull something like this. She had also learned over the past week that words alone would not get Naruto to listen.

Which was why she was now blocking the door.

"What are _you_ doing, Hinata?" Naruto asked. He was growing increasingly frustrated with her.

"What does it look like? I am stopping you from doing something stupid."

Naruto did not have time for this argument. The longer he waited, the more time he allowed Hinata to waste, the further away Sasuke got from Konoha. "Move, or I'll move you."

"Go ahead and try," Hinata challenged him. For the next few seconds, she was locked into a staring contest with Naruto as it sank in that she meant what she said and would do everything in her power, however limited it was right now, to stop him.

"Tch…" Naruto turned away and clenched his fists again. "Why are you always butting in like this?" he hissed. "I don't remember giving you any control over my life." He suddenly grabbed Hinata's wrist, much to her dismay.

"Naruto-kun, I—"

"I don't wanna hear it!" Naruto snapped. He yanked her out of her wheelchair by the wrist and carried her back towards the kitchen. Hinata struggled to escape from his hold, but with the way Naruto was holding her, she was unable to use the casts on her right arm or leg to hit him and thus could not put up a real fight. "Now just stay there, okay?" he demanded as he dropped her onto a chair.

"Wait!" Hinata cried. Her voice fell on deaf ears; Naruto just marched back to the door and threw it open.

"When the hell did these clouds come in?" Naruto growled at the heavy rain outside. The skies over Konoha had been perfectly clear earlier in the evening, before all of this madness happened.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata called out to him again.

"Damn it…why is she so persistent?" Naruto cursed as he glanced at the prototype wheelchair beside him. "Better make sure she can't follow me," he muttered, hoisting the wheelchair up and carrying it outside with him before closing the door on Hinata. He forced himself to walk slowly, trying not to attract suspicion, since he knew he was being watched by those damned Anbu the old man thought needed to be around him all the time now and he knew he didn't have much time to figure out how to throw them off his trail. That would not be easy, even for him, the village's master prankster.

Naruto had only made it three blocks away from the apartment when he thought he started hearing a familiar voice in the rain. "I must be hallucinating already or something," he said to himself with a chuckle. He looked down at himself and saw how badly he was soaked from walking just this short distance. Then he heard that voice again. He stuck his pinky in his right ear, thinking it was a stray drop of rain that might have gotten into his canal that was causing this. "Whoever you are, this joke isn't funny," he muttered to himself, still trying to ignore that voice. And then it called out a third time, right in his ears, as he felt something grab his pant leg.

"Naruto-kun, STOP!"

Naruto spun around and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. To his absolute horror, Hinata was on her knees in front of him. With how quickly she had caught up, Naruto realized that she must have tried running on her broken leg at first, then resorted to crawling after him.

"You idiot!" Naruto shouted back at Hinata. He quickly took off his jacket and threw it over her, then scooped her up into a bridal carry and ran back to the apartment, running right past two Anbu who he just knew had been running after them for breaking curfew (but which begged the question, however briefly, of _how_ they had failed to immediately respond to Hinata bolting from the place). The only sound from Hinata as Naruto took her back was her rapid breathing.

Unsurprisingly to Naruto, the front door had been left open. Hinata would not have been concerned about anyone who would just walk in, not while Naruto had been so focused on Sasuke. Naruto grabbed the wheelchair and dragged it back inside, then kicked the door shut behind him and carried Hinata to the main living area, setting her down in front of the electric fireplace (something which was so new that he doubted anywhere else in Konoha had one yet) and turning it on. Then, without fully realizing what he was doing, he walked in front of Hinata and began unbuttoning her blouse.

"N-N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata stammered, blushing furiously.

"We gotta get you out of these clothes before you get sick," Naruto explained. Hinata hesitantly nodded and tried to remain still as Naruto carefully slid the damp article of clothing off her, leaving her chest covered only by _sarashi._ Being this exposed to Naruto made her blush deepen, covering her entire face, and she barely noticed that Naruto's face seemed to be even redder than hers. She instinctively moved her broken arm to cover her chest. Naruto did his best to focus on the task at hand, tugging off her pants as gently as possible. This did nothing to help his blush, every bit of previously unseen skin just adding fuel to his flustered thoughts. _I'm starting to feel a little light-headed…_

Once he was _finally_ done, Naruto practically staggered as he started off to his room, refusing to look at the fiercely blushing Hinata, but she grabbed his hand before he could get more than a step away.

"Don't worry, Hinata. I swear I won't go after Sasuke," Naruto assured her. Hinata heard the unspoken _for now_ at the end of that statement, but nodded and let him go.

Once he was in his room, the reality of what he had just done a minute ago sunk in. "What the hell was I doing?!" he shouted, grabbing fistfuls of his hair with both hands. He had just _undressed Hinata._ A large part of him still couldn't stand being around her because of how she had hurt herself trying to save him, and now he had gone and done _this._ And yet...even though her casts marred it, the image of Hinata wearing only _sarashi_ was getting stuck in his head, and for a brief moment, a traitorous thought popped into Naruto's head about how cute Hinata had looked being flustered and in that state of undress.

When Naruto calmed down after a few minutes, he took off his own damp clothes and left them on the floor, but completely forgot about putting on fresh clothes as he grabbed a spare blanket from his closet and walked back to the living area, carefully wrapping the blanket around Hinata. Once Hinata was wrapped up, he sat down next to her. He saw that her face was still red.

"Hinata, are you getting a fever?" Naruto asked.

Hinata furiously shook her head. "I-I'm fine, Naruto-kun," she stammered, trying to ignore that Naruto was only wearing a pair of green boxers. "B-But, I need to know…a-are you mad at me?"

Naruto gave Hinata a stern look. "Honestly, Hinata, I don't know how I feel about you. I don't know how I feel about any of this."

"I understand." Hinata turned away from Naruto for almost a full minute, focusing on breathing slowly so she would be calm enough to ask ner next question—which was not an easy thing for her to do when Naruto was sitting next to her in a similar state of undress as herself. "Naruto-kun…why would you go after Sasuke?"

Naruto laughed bitterly at that question. "I shouldn't answer that, y'know. You'll just think it's stupid."

"At least allow me to hear your reasons first before I decide. Please, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto sighed deeply, asking himself yet again why it was so difficult for him to resist Hinata when she pleaded with him to be open with her. "He left before I could truly beat him," he reluctantly explained. "I tried so hard to prove I was better than that bastard and then he just goes and leaves. He didn't even think twice about me or anyone else. I just…I thought that if I didn't go after him now and bring him back, I'll always be trapped in his shadow."

Hinata was taken aback by Naruto's answer. For a brief moment, her thoughts betrayed her, questioning if she had made the right decision by going after Naruto herself or even just leaving it to the Anbu to drag him back here. Even though she knew deep down that if she hadn't taken any action right then, Naruto would have just ran off to his death. But now Naruto had told her that with Sasuke gone, the villagers might look even _more_ unfavorably on any efforts he made to improve…and for that brief moment, she almost believed him.

"I…I'm sorry, Naruto-kun…I didn't—"

_"Know?"_ Naruto spat. "Well tell me something that isn't new." Hinata remained silent after he snapped at her, and Naruto found himself beating himself up after looking at her and seeing how he'd hurt her feelings for the umpteenth time. He sighed and shrugged before going on, saying, "Well, I guess it doesn't matter anymore. Even if I had kept going after Sasuke, I don't think I could have made him come back." Hinata's eyes widened a tiny fraction from hearing these anguished words of honesty from Naruto. This was the first time _anyone_ had ever heard him doubting his ability to win a fight, and he had chosen to open up to _her_ about these doubts.

"Is Sasuke that important to you, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

Naruto shrugged again. "I dunno. I guess I always thought that he and I were similar. So I thought there was a chance we could be friends. But something always held me back from talking to him."

Now that Hinata was looking at the situation from Naruto's perspective, it made perfect sense. Both Naruto and Sasuke were broken children who sought to validate their existence in some way. Naruto had sought his validation through his desire to become Hokage. Sasuke...well, Hinata wasn't quite sure if the Last Not-So-Loyal Uchiha had any motivation beyond his drive for revenge, but whatever his other motivations, if any, may have been, Sasuke could not be any more different than Naruto. Maybe all she needed to do here was to make Naruto understand that.

"So you were drawn to Sasuke because of your similarities?" Hinata asked.

Naruto squinted his eyes and rubbed his chin, actually taking time to think about his answer. "Well, if I had to put it that way, then ya, I guess that's why."

Hinata took several deep breaths before asking her next question. "Um…did you ever consider…that maybe the two of you are fundamentally different?"

"Huh?" Naruto raised an eyebrow at Hinata. "Whaddaya mean by that?"

Hinata fidgeted a little under Naruto's spare blanket. She had to remind herself to breathe, to stay calm so she could stop this conversation from turning into another argument. "Naruto-kun, what I mean to say is that while yes, you and Sasuke may have a few things in common, that doesn't mean the two of you are alike. To be honest, Naruto-kun, I truly believe you are mistaken when you claim that you are living in Sasuke's shadow."

Naruto fell on his back laughing. "Hahaha…thanks for the vote of confidence, Hinata," he said sarcastically, rolling on the floor a little. But then he noticed that Hinata was not amused in the slightest. She had not told him a joke like he assumed. "Oh, come on, Hinata!" he yelled as he pushed himself back up. "I barely passed the graduation exam and I'm pretty sure the old man had something to do with that. I've never been good at anything, and Sasuke, he…he's just good at everything…"

"But don't you see, Naruto-kun?" Hinata said. "That is what makes you two different. Sasuke doesn't know what it is like to fail over and over like you do. He has grown at least a little arrogant through his repeated successes. He hasn't truly stumbled during the Academy."

Hinata paused as she slowly turned her whole body to face Naruto and reached out with her left hand to hold his hands. "But you have, Naruto-kun. And yet when you stumble and fall, you pull yourself back up. You keep trying no matter how many times you fail, because you know that eventually, you will succeed." Hinata then let go of Naruto's hands and lifted hers to caress his cheek. "In my eyes, Naruto-kun, this makes you a proud failure. You understand that true strength is the ability to never stop moving forward no matter how many times you're pushed back. And that is something Sasuke does not understand."

"Hinata…" Naruto was unable to say anything but her name. What could he even say to her, were he able to try? Once again, Hinata had succeeded in filling his heart with conflicting feelings. Her words were just too hard for him to process, not because they didn't make sense—and they actually made _too much_ sense—but because _no one_ had ever said anything like that to him before. This entire situation was completely foreign to him, and he simply did not know how to respond.

"I think I'll go back to sleep now," he forced himself to say, leaving Hinata momentarily stunned as he stood up to leave. "Do you need anything, Hinata?"

"Oh, um, no thank you, Naruto-kun. I think I'll just sit out here for a while," Hinata answered.

Naruto decided to leave Hinata be, despite the fact that he was not entirely sure he wanted to be alone. Solitude gave him too much time to think, and his thoughts were decidedly maudlin. He wandered back into his bedroom and _finally_ realized he had forgotten to get dressed before taking to Hinata. He thought it had been bad before, seeing so much of Hinata earlier, but now it was much worse realizing that he'd exposed himself to her in the same way. He barely managed to shake off that thought as he opened his dresser to pull out a set of gray pajamas and slipped them on, then laid down on his bed and burrowed under the covers, losing himself in other confusing and depressing thoughts.

He hadn't been completely honest with Hinata about his feelings. Sasuke had everything Naruto wanted. Sasuke represented everything Naruto wanted to be: Skilled. Strong. Respected. Sasuke had the love and admiration of the village without even trying, while Naruto had to fight like a back-alley feline for the smallest scrap of acknowledgement, the barest hint of strength. An iota of kindness. Sure he had Iruka, Ayame and Teuchi, and the Old Man, but they had their own lives and loved ones to worry about. What was he but a pebble in the ocean of their lives?

Not like Sasuke.

When Naruto threw himself from the Hokage Rock, he had been convinced that the world was better off without him. Once he was dead, the villagers would quickly forget he ever existed, and would go on with their everyday lives and continue praising people like their perfect Sasuke. But he was clear-headed enough now to begin to think differently. With the reactions of Iruka, the Old Man, _Hinata_ …Naruto was beginning to see that act, what he thought of as performing a favor for the world, through a different outlook. The tears Hinata shed for him…surely an act that would cause someone such as her to cry, to throw herself after him without regard for her own safety could be nothing but selfish?

And that's what scared him the most. Sasuke's latest stunt, leaving the village for whatever reason, committing treason and abandoning his home was nothing short of selfish. Sasuke didn't care about the people he hurt, the lives he ruined…as usual, Sasuke spat upon everything Naruto wanted, without a second thought. But after his own big stunt, Iruka had been so angry with him. Hinata had got herself injured trying to stop him. She had begged and pleaded with him as she dove after him, but instead of letting her pull him out of the abyss, he argued with her until her strength gave out and they fell into it together. He was convinced no one would ever care about him, despite all of the evidence to the contrary in front of him. And he had spat on the kindness and attention which he so desperately sought.

_Just_ like Sasuke.

Naruto sighed deeply as he closed his eyes, trying to get some semblance of sleep tonight. But it was not to be. He was tortured with thoughts of his connection to Sasuke.

Or more accurately, with the thoughts of their similarities. Similarities which would plague Naruto for a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *A/N largely borrowed from original post on FF*
> 
> Hinata not using an honorific suffix for Sasuke in the last scene is not OOC, as she now views the Last Not-So-Loyal Uchiha as a criminal, even though he cannot officially be declared a missing-nin. Honorific titles normally were not used for criminals, though efforts have been made to distinguish between suspects (yōgisha), defendants (hikoku), and convicts (jukeisha). We know that Hinata's claim to Naruto that Sasuke doesn't know what it's like to fail is dead wrong, but she likely does not care about that error, since her goal is to keep Naruto inside the village.
> 
> I dislike that I felt like I was forced into writing the Mizuki scene in this chapter. Aside from the reasoning for including that scene, I was plagued by some massive writer's block in that scene. And well, in the entire chapter really. Don't be surprised if I end up partially rewriting this chapter at a later date.


End file.
